One Step Closer
by crazytuts
Summary: It's Hermione's last year at Hogwarts, and she's having strange apparitions, battling against malfoy, and falling in love with Ron. Read on to find out more!
1. Letters and Dreams

Chapter 1 - DREAMS AND LETTERS  
  
A distorted outline of a tall person pushed open the navy blue door and stepped inside without a single caution in the world. It revealed a morbid rectangular room that swayed down like a steep hill and was bordered with stone benches. There was no sound occurring whatsoever that even the stale wind could be recognizable.   
  
A gloomy swirl of dust and smoke that surrounded the Death Chamber began to clear up as the person shot hints of yellow sparks past the benches and through the somber walls. I  
  
The room was more visible to the human eye now, and three distinct figures came into view. A fearful Ron was standing in front of Harry to guard him, but Harry kept on shoving Ron repeatedly like he was some kind of puppet. They were both situated in front of the ancient veil, flip-flapping left and right, with blue streaks of reminiscent light were painted on both their petrified faces.  
  
About ten feet away from them was a towering hooded figure dressed in a green cloak and with every step, Voldemort neared the two in front of the veil, his wand raised.   
  
"Move aside, foolish boy." Spoke the chilling voice of Voldemort. Ron elbowed Harry violently in the chest, causing him to wobble down, and then raised his wand weakly, too.   
  
"No! You'll have to get through me first! You he…hear me! You-gerroff, Harry..." Ron was panting furiously, his chest was heaving madly, and his wand arm bleeding freely.  
  
"Move, Ron!" Yelled Harry as he stumbled up back to his feet and pushed Ron with all his strength, but he wouldn't budge.   
  
"Well, well." Hissed the cold voice. "I guess your pathetic friend will have to be disposed first. Avada Kedavra!" The spark of vibrant light seemed to take forever to reach Ron, but when it did, the green beam streaked ripely onto Ron's chest with surprise, and he fell backwards into the veil and disappeared.  
  
"Wake up Miss!" A squeaky voice rang out in the room. Something fuzzy brushed against Hermione's face, causing her eyes to open suddenly. She sneezed.  
  
"What…?" She rose out of her bed instantaneously, and saw Dobby the house elf perching over near her bed, staring worriedly at her with his glowing eyes. In his hand was a huge feather duster swaying back and forth, and on his head were three colorful hats that seemed to be awfully familiar to Hermione.  
  
"Are you alright Miss? Dobby heard you screaming!"  
  
Hermione looked at herself. Her mint-green nightgown was clinging to her sweaty skin like butter on toast, and as her eyes trailed down, she noticed that her lower arms were crimson-colored with faint spots of purple situated upon them.  
  
Faint whispers were traveling around the dorm room, and Hermione saw that a few people were stirring out of their sleep. Parvati and Lavender were sitting on their beds warily and staring at Hermione with concern, but others just opened their eyes once and went back to snoozing.  
  
"I'm…fine. It was just a bad dream." Said Hermione, wiping her arms hoarsely and turning her face away from the lookers.  
  
"Dobby must leave now, Miss. Dobby hopes you feel better."  
  
"Thank you." Hermione said sincerely, and in a flash, he flicked his fingers and disappeared into the thin air.   
  
"Are you alright?" Said Parvati sympathetically, observing her arms.  
  
"Yeah. Goodnight." She said, and pretended to go back to sleep.  
  
After a few minutes passed and nobody was awake, Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room and settled down on the leather sofa in the upper right corner. She pointed her wand to her arms and declared, "Clerio!". The blotches and the sweat vanished, but the red color was still present.  
  
Hermione peered out the window, observing a warm sun peaking out of the steep hills and brightening the midnight sky. Halloween was approaching, and she could almost taste the savory flavor of pumpkin flying with the air outside.   
  
Her stomach grumbled; it was still three hours before breakfast was served, and she was starving.  
  
  
  
What did the dreams mean? Am I going insane? Ever since she had entered Hogwarts for her last year, all sorts of nightmares seemed to be attacking her sleep, and this one had been the worst of the lot. Voldemort killed Ron…  
  
Hermione shivered with unease, and once more rubbed her arms. She didn't want to inform Harry or Ron, because their reactions would be horrible and they wouldn't be able to do anything. But I have to tell someone…  
  
Only one person came to her mind, a person that she had confided in before and gone to extreme lengths to help her. She grabbed a roll of parchment, quill, and ink and started to write.  
  
Dear Lupin,  
  
How are you, Lupin? I hope everything is fine at Grimmuald Place, and assume nobody is in trouble.  
  
I'm writing to you because recently, I have been getting these strange dreams of dark places, and I think most of them occur in the Department of Mysteries.   
  
I am very confused, and please write back to tell me what you think, or if you know anything about it. Bye!  
  
Love,  
  
Hermione.  
  
Hermione knew it was really short and straight-out, but she didn't feel like writing anymore than she had to. As she rolled up the piece of parchment, a familiar voice behind her spoke, "What are you doing here?"   
  
Hermione whirled around to find Ron coming down the steps of the boys' dormitory. He was dressed in red and golden quidditch robes with a shining broomstick perched tightly in his hand; his face was still craving sleep, but his eyes glowed with excitement.  
  
Hermione slid the parchment behind her and put it under the leather cover, 'I couldn't sleep." She said, and then pointed at Ron's broomstick, her eyebrows raised, "Quidditch at four o'clock in the morning?"  
  
"Just practicing on my own for an hour or two," said Ron, and then eyed Hermione, as if he were looking through her. "What's that, eh?"  
  
"What's what?"  
  
"The parchment."  
  
"Oh," she took it out, "It's just a letter I was writing."  
  
Ron sat down beside her, "Who in the world are you writing to at the crack of dawn?"  
  
Hermione announced the first person that came to mind, "Viktor."  
  
Ron's face turned nasty in a whiff, and looked like he had just gobbled down something poisonous, "You still keep in touch with him?" He said disbelievingly.   
  
"Yes I do." Said Hermione with her eyes towards the window. She didn't feel right lying to Ron like that and seeing his annoyed outburst, but on the other side, she didn't want to tell him what she was hallucinating in her dreams.  
  
"Oh come on, Hermione! It's been three years since he came here!" Finally, Ron let go of his broomstick and lay it against the wall, "Wait. Are you under his spell or summat?"  
  
"Oh shut up." Hermione rolled her eyes, and couldn't believe that Ron was still jealous.   
  
He seemed hurt, but after a second, he hid it and said, "So why couldn't you sleep? Failing tests in your dreams, are you?"  
  
She scowled at Ron, "No, but I was having bad dreams."  
  
He stood up and clutched his broomstick safely like it was a piece of glass, and then straightened his robes so they looked unwrinkled.  
  
"I hope they weren't too bad. I have to go now." He said seriously.  
  
Hermione said bye, and after Ron left the common room, she took out the parchment and stared at it. Should I tell Lupin what I'm seeing in my dreams?   
  
Nah, said another prevailing voice inside her head. I don't want him to think I'm crazy. Hermione remembered when Harry had to clear his mind to block bad dreams, and she attempted the same. She closed her eyes and focused on clearing her mind fully, but somehow the flash of green light hitting Ron's chest intruded into her mind…   
  
  
  
"Hermione!"   
  
Hermione's eyes flew open to discover a blurry figure of Harry facing her and poking her shoulder. She groaned tiredly, stroking his hand away, and then shut her eyes to blackness.  
  
"Wake up! It's 9 in the morning!"  
  
As if struck by electricity, her heart gave a jolt, and she screamed. "What? But I have an Arithmancy Exam today! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" Hermione prodded her legs to stand up straight, and she was about to run out of the common room in the speed of light when Harry grasped her arm, "Calm down, Hermione! It's Saturday." He gave her a will-you-ever-change look and let go of her arm, "A little panicky, are we?"  
  
Hermione glanced at her arms; they were back to their normal ivory color. She tilted her head up to find a crowd of students in the common room; some were gibbering away, others were munching on candies and chocolate, and the rest were attempting to put curses on each other. A few of them glanced her way, wondering what all of the commotion was about,  
  
"Are you sure?" She said, observing Harry mysteriously, who was about to go to Quidditch practice, no doubt, being dressed the same as Ron.  
  
Harry chortled, "Yeah, but don't you have other duties to get to?"  
  
Hermione's eyes widened, and without a word, she blasted out of the common room. 


	2. Draco Malfoy

Chapter 2 - DRACO MALFOY  
  
The door to the trophy room flew open in a split second and Hermione paced in, but she froze to the spot when she learned of her surroundings. A pale-faced boy with cherry-brown hair was sprawled on the ground and sharp-pointed needles were circling his body and pricking him one after another. Another figure was standing dominantly over him and had his back to Hermione. It was Draco Malfoy, watching the event maliciously as if it were the circus, with his wand pointing at the tortured boy.  
  
"Reverte Inito!" Bellowed Hermione, and the kid stopped moving and stared at the ceiling with outright relief. Malfoy turned suddenly, his cloak flying around his body, to find Hermione at the door and looking like Christmas had been canceled. Younger students that appeared to be first or second years were sitting fearfully in the desks and watching the drama that was occurring.  
  
Hermione reached the boy and helped him rise, "What-are-you-doing?"  
  
"Taking advantage of my Head Boy position." He replied fruitfully, "Did you have to come now? It was just getting fun."  
  
"For heaven's sake, we don't attack the kids!" She said.  
  
Malfoy ran his fingers through his sleek blond hair, "They deserve it, the wrongdoers. They are in detention, you know."  
  
"Malfoy, do I have to remind you of a certain white ferret bouncing around every time you decide to attack innocent students?" Hermione sputtered. A few students in the class laughed out loud and started to distribute whispers to the confused kids.  
  
Malfoy's expression told that he was an inch away from hexing Hermione with his wand aiming at her, because his eyes narrowed dangerously and one of his eyebrows rose up.   
  
"Don't even think about it." Said Hermione casually and pointed her wand at him. When will he learn? She was getting quite tired of dealing with Malfoy almost every single day and telling him not to abuse anyone, but it never worked. How a whole year would pass like this, Hermione didn't know.  
  
He rested his wand down and said, "I wasn't going to, you little twit."  
  
"What's going on?" A firm voice alluded in the air. It was Ron.  
  
"Nothing." She said, giving Malfoy a dirty look.  
  
"Aaah." The thirsty expression was back on Malfoy's face as he surveyed Ron, "It's the weasel back from another hopeless quidditch practice.  
  
"Shut it Malfoy." Spat Ron and then turned to Hermione, "Did you start counting the Hogsmeade slips?"  
  
Hermione walked over to the massive desk toppled with numerous rolls of parchment, and began to sort them out. "No, I just got here."  
  
Malfoy took a seat in the back of the trophy room and glared malevolently at Ron and Hermione as if he were planning something in his head.   
  
As Ron told the Hogwarts students the instructions for their detention, Hermione approached Malfoy.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Sitting. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out." He said slyly.   
  
"You're kidding yourself if you think we'll do all of the work," She signaled her figures to the wall frames around the room, "Since you love using your wand so much, you can clean all of the trophies in here."  
  
"With pleasure." Replied Malfoy with a smile and got up shortly. Hermione's eyes widened as he uttered Cleaning spells at all the dusty trophies, because she had to admit that she was expecting him to refuse the order. Maybe I am good…  
  
"Hermione!" Ron called out, and she walked to the desk again and took a seat beside him.  
  
"What's up? What was Malfoy up to again?" Said Ron in a low voice.  
  
"Just agonizing one of the kids, and then I stepped in the room and stopped it, and he was really disappointed." Said Hermione.  
  
Ron laughed wildly, "Thank god you're Head Girl, what would happen to Hogwarts if you weren't?"  
  
She grinned slightly, "And thank God that I don't have to deal with him alone. Bless Dumbledore for having 7th year prefects," she passed a checked off parchment to Ron, "So how was quidditch practice?"  
  
"It was alright, even though Ginny got about 20 goals past me. I reckon we'll win the match against Ravenclaw next week, though."   
  
Detention was over after a long amount of time, and Hermione escorted them back to their common rooms and see that they wouldn't wander off somewhere else. Then she returned to the trophy room and helped Ron with the slips.   
  
It seemed like hours when the slips were done, and when they were, Malfoy still had a few trophies to go.  
  
Hermione gave Ron a dignified look and said, "Let's help him."  
  
"Do we have to? I was planning to unclean all of them." Said Ron, and snorted.  
  
"Clerify!" She articulated with her wand producing green sparks against the trophies.  
  
After a few minutes, they were finally done.  
  
Malfoy was the first one to speak out, "No one asked for your help, Mudblood."  
  
Hermione was used to this so much that she didn't even flinch, even though a vein in her head popped out, and ignored Malfoy as if he were the wall. With her back against them, she cleaned the last piece.  
  
"Shut your mouth!" Said Ron, his eyes flashing.  
  
Out of the blue, Malfoy yelled out a word and something tickling shot Hermione's back and she fainted.  
  
  
  
The brilliant sunlight streaked through Hermione's eyes as she opened them. Her body was resting on a fluffy white bed in a vast room of other similar beds where other people were sleeping deeply. How did I get in the Hospital Wing?  
  
"Finally! You're awake!" Exclaimed Ron, who was sitting on the velvet chair next to her bed. He had a mixed impression of worry and relief on his face and ate a Chocolate Frog lying on the mini desk on the other side of him.  
  
"What happened?" Hermione declared while she pulled a bunch of her hair back.  
  
"Malfoy got you. That little bastard." He uttered nastily.  
  
"And…?"  
  
"Then I hit him with the Freezing Curse and of course, he couldn't do anything after that. I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't, so I got worried and took you here to Madam Pomfrey."  
  
"What happened to Malfoy?" Hermione said curiously.   
  
"Oh, he's probably in Dumbledore's office getting about a month's worth of detentions," Ron smirked, "I wonder what kind of spell that was, I've never seen it used before."  
  
She rose up and sat on the bed, "I dunno, maybe a Fainting Hex?"  
  
Ron got up as well, "Maybe. I have to go now, a pile of homework's waiting for me, unless you want to do it."  
  
"Ok, and no." She stared at Ron disapprovingly.   
  
"And thanks for waiting." Hermione added as an after thought.  
  
Ron's ears turned bright pink, and then he left the room with one look behind.   
  
Despite her tired nature, she smiled at Ron's sympathy. 


	3. The Great Hall

CHAPTER 3 - The Great Hall  
  
October 13,  
  
I cannot wait to get out of here. 9 days. 9 complete days that I've been stuck in here with no way out and with nothing to do. So this is the very first entry of my diary in all of my life, given to me by Ron. All of the homework, lectures, and tests I've missed, I can't believe it! But I have to admit; it is nice to be cared for, from multiple numbers of people- Madam Pomfrey, Ron, and Harry.  
  
I figured out what Malfoy hit me with-a Morbida Curse, dark magic that can black out your memory and make you faint for a short period of time and could cause short-term memory loss. But Madam Pomfrey said that I haven't been thoroughly harmed, so that's fine…Harry told me Malfoy would've almost gotten expelled, but thanks to Dumbledore, he didn't. God knows why Dumbledore didn't expel him, but he does have a month's worth of detention. Harry was almost dancing off the walls when he came to tell me, that's the most I've seen him happy in a while.  
  
Ron is acting very strange, I don't know what to think. The bizarre thing is that he's being NICER than he's supposed to be, its quite funny. Out of his busy schedule, he comes to visit me everyday and tries to cheer me up-it's very admiring. But this is the most frightening change, he asked me if I could help him study for a big test coming up in his 'Mystery in The Magical World' class. I still can't believe Ron wants to be an Unspeakable, I never thought he would be interested in that, but I guess those brains in the Department of Mysteries seemed to have a crucial effect on his mind. Usually it would be Harry who came to visit more, but Harry comes by occasionally, sometimes with Ron.  
  
Something is different in Ron, and I wonder if he likes me or something. I didn't think that before, but ever since Madam Pomfrey had said that, she was thinking differently.  
  
"You alright now?" I remember Madam Pomfrey straightening my sheets and talking to me a couple of days ago.  
  
"Yes. Can I please leave?" I said.  
  
"No, you may not leave! The Morbida Curse is very life-threatening, or mind-threatening, it must be taken very seriously!" She flustered.  
  
"You have no idea how dull it is sitting here all day." I said under my breath.  
  
"Apparently I do, Miss Granger. I work here, remember?"   
  
"I have no one to talk to…" I told her, but regretted it the second the sentence it came out of my mouth.  
  
"Preposterous! You have visitors, Mr. Potter, Ms.Patil, even Professor Tonks came to visit you, and what about Mr.Weasley?"  
  
"What about him?" I declared, avoiding her eyes.  
  
"The sweet thing has been her every day, sitting by you, even when you are sleeping." Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "He really cares about you, I can see that."  
  
Was it true? Did he really-  
  
"Guess what Hermz?" She jumped as Ron sprang in from the back door of the Hospital Wing with a huge grin on his face, and ran to Hermione who was sprawled on the bed indolently.  
  
"Hello yourself." Said Hermione, forcing a smile on her worn-out face.  
  
  
  
"Two elements of good news." He said, stroking his flame-red hair with one hand and holding a piece of parchment in the other. Hermione grasped it curiously and scanned it over. An 'Outstanding'. She couldn't recall the moment when Ron had ever gotten an Outstanding, especially a psychological class so similar to Divination, one of Ron's former-worse subjects.  
  
"You must be thinking how I got that, right? Nearly fainted myself when I read it, thought it was somebody else's-"  
  
"CONGRATULATIONS!" She got up instantly and gave Ron a promising hug. This was one of Ron's major achievements, and he needed to know it. "I'm so proud of you!"  
  
"Er-thanks, I think." He replied awkwardly, "but it's mostly because of you, I would've failed if you hadn't helped me out."  
  
"True, but it was you who was motivated to learn it." Hermione replied truthfully. "What was the other good news?"  
  
Ron's face came alarmed, and once again, he beamed, "You can leave now! Madam Pomfrey told me earlier when I came here, but you were sleeping, so she told me then!"  
  
Hermione was overwhelmed; her eyes widened in relief and she hugged Ron again without knowing what she was doing.  
  
"Finally! Let's go!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione beamed at herself in the mirror as she combed her hair thoroughly to make it straight as possible, and all sorts of thoughts traveled into her mind like a train.   
  
She couldn't wait to go to Arithmancy and ask Professor Vector what she had missed and get to Defense Against the Dark Arts and see Tonks again. Hermione missed being around her, because whenever her day was stressed, she would always put some light into her heart. She remembered the first day of lessons when Tonks had given a lesson on Metamorphagus' like her. Neville had raised his hand to ask a question to 'Professor Tonks', and her purple hair had become little yellow slits in surprise and she almost had fallen flat on her face, making the whole class burst with laughter.   
  
Tonks was her most favorable teacher this year. Hermione learned so much in her class without Tonks having to be so strict. She was very casual, as if she was almost one of the students, and that was the only class where the three (she, Ron, and Harry) were together in.  
  
  
  
A few minutes later, Hermione left the dormitory to go to the Great Hall for breakfast, carrying a backpack contaminated with books. She promised herself that she wouldn't pull them out at the table, because she had a lot of social catching up to do.  
  
The autumn-cool morning shined through the full-panel windows of Great hall and fell mesmerizingly into her eyes and the wind made her shiver like a cold frog. She smelled fresh scents of morning food all around the room, and anticipated the moment that she put some non-hospital food into her mouth.  
  
The Great Hall was filled with merry students quarreling up noise, groups of ghosts were chatting with each other, and some teachers were marking papers while others were talking as well. Hermione checked the room and found Harry, Ron, and Neville sitting at their usual spots.  
  
She neared them slowly from the back, at least a few feet away, and had the idea to jump them. But there was some tension going on, and she observed.   
  
"But I have to do it soon or it'll be over!" Hermione heard Harry whisper hoarsely to Ron and Neville. Ron was settled next to Harry with a concerned expression, and Neville on the other side of Harry whose face showed pure terror.   
  
"But can't you tell Dumbledore first?" Said Ron, sounding very desperate. What are they talking about?  
  
"What's up?" Hermione said eagerly, completely forgetting her plan. All three swerved.  
  
"Hey Hermione!" Neville turned to greet her, bringing some cheerfulness onto his face.  
  
"Hey." Said Harry, forcing a smile. Ron just beamed at her and made room for her in between them.   
  
"What were you talking about?" Said Hermione, still focused on their conversation.  
  
Ron, Harry, and Neville exchanged looks and then Harry nodded.  
  
"Well," started Ron, his voice barely being a whisper, "Harry's saying that he's going to go the…eherm, Ministry, again."   
  
Hermione knew this was coming, because nothing else could've possible been on Harry's mind than that.  
  
"No Harry! You really mustn't!"  
  
Harry smirked with a languor look, "Big surprise," he said, "I'm going, and you can't talk me out of it."  
  
This time it was Neville who spoke to Hermione, "So how are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine, just weak from sitting for so many days." Then she turned to Harry, "No, you can't! What if something happens? Remember when you and Neville took your little trip there?"  
  
Harry turned the other way and stared at the Great Hall, appearing to be fascinated by it.  
  
Even if Harry didn't want to recount that, Hermione didn't ever want that to happen again. The anxiety and worry that she and Ron had gotten through when one day, Neville and Harry had missed coming to the Common Room last year. She remembered it like it was a day ago.  
  
Three hours passed had passed by. No sign of them. Hermione had been troubled enough to the point that she was ready to Professor Dumbledore's office and inform them. Earlier that day, she had already been suspicious of Harry and Neville with their furtive glances at each other and Neville being a little more clumsy than usual. There was no doubt that they had gone to the Department of Mysteries.   
  
At that time, Hermione didn't really care why Harry hadn't told her or Ron about his plans, because all she was concerned about was their safety. But Ron was the opposite; he was furious that Harry excluded him from his plan and never told him about the prophecy.   
  
So they had gone to Professor McGonagall and told them they had to see the Headmaster with something that concerned with the Order of the Phoenix. Up went the spiral steps to his office a few minutes later, and there had been Dumbledore sitting in his chair and conversing with a man with greasy black hair-Snape.  
  
He had turned with a deafening crack in his neck and produced the most loathing look Hermione had seen yet, but Dumbledore hadn't didn't even flinched at the sight of her and Ron in his office after midnight…  
  
"Earth to Hermione!" Ron spoke and wove his empty hand up and down in front of her face. Hermione returned to the Hall.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said that if Harry's going again, then we're going with him," Said Ron, "Right?"  
  
Going back to the Department of Mysteries would feel more terrifying than failing N.E.W.T's to her; the place too extreme and mysterious for her.  
  
"Yes." She replied reluctantly. Harry needed all of the aid he could get. Ron shot her a look.  
  
"No. You're not coming with me!" Harry said quietly, gazing around with a nervous expression.  
  
"Well, then you're not going!" Said Hermione.  
  
"Why did I even bother to tell you?" He said loudly.  
  
"Shhh!" She commanded.   
  
Neville spoke, "Because we're your friends."  
  
"I have to do this alone, nobody's going to die because of me."  
  
"Does Tonks know?" Said Neville anxiously.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Ron spluttered before Harry got a chance to open his mouth, "She'd probably lock him behind bars first. Mind you, we just might have to do that if this gets serious."  
  
"Can we please talk about this somewhere else, privately?" Said Hermione, staring at her surroundings, hoping nobody would hear them.  
  
Ron stared at her apologetically and Harry stood up.  
  
All three of them glared at him, and he said, "Sorry, but we do have classes soon, and I got to reach the third floor."  
  
A couple of minutes of later, Hermione, Ron, and Neville decided that they would meet at the most private place they had come to know through their years-the abandoned bathroom where they had produced their Polyjuice Potion. Ron left early to go to 'Mystery of Magical World' class, which left Hermione and Neville.  
  
She stood up and turned to him, "Meet us there at 8?"  
  
"Yeah. Bye." He said reassuringly, took out a book and started to read.  
  
With a wave, she walked across the Great Hall to the exit. As her mind was still on the whole situation, someone sprang from behind the door and pushed her against the wall. 


	4. Chapter 4 Attack Of the Heart

Chapter 4 - Attack Of the Heart  
  
A sudden jolt surged through her body like a gunshot. Everything was happening so instantaneously that Hermione didn't even have a chance to defend herself, and out of nowhere, a pain as sharp as a knife jolted up her spine as someone shoved her violently against the rock hard wall, causing her head to bang noisily.  
  
Simultaneously, a fixed hand grasped her arm roughly followed by the next. Before she knew it, the wand from Hermione's other hand had vanished.  
  
She flicked her face away as if she was about to be bitten; there was some force that was resisting her from looking straight ahead at the mystery figure. An unfamiliar feeling had landed into her that was making her heart thump continuously; it wouldn't come to her surprise if she vomited right then and there.  
  
"Get-off-me!" Hermione struggled away from the unknown person with all her strength. She stomped on his foot and heaved her body towards the person with such a force that it knocked them flat on the floor.  
  
Hermione swiftly threw back her hair and took a look at the figure. With no surprise at all, the face of her worst nightmare, Draco Malfoy, was glaring at her murderously.  
  
"The day I get out of the Hospital Wing, you attack me. When will you learn?"  
  
Malfoy attempted to move his left leg but failed, "I'll get you one day. You and your little boyfriend." His face was cold and serious.  
  
He was stumbling to stand when Hermione pounced on him and pushed him back to the ground. Retrieving her wand, she pointed it at him and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"  
  
Without even getting a chance to defend himself, Malfoy's legs and arms locked tightly together with ease and his body lay flat on the solid floor. His surprised and dangerous face had wrinkle marks on it, which made him look at least ten years older, and his ice blond hair that had grown about 2 inches longer, helped go along with it.  
  
Hermione soothed her throbbing arms and sighed heavily, "You know, I really didn't need to deal with your bloody stunts today, of all days."  
  
She perched down next to him and glared at him. Hermione had the sudden urge to scratch his face over and over again until he was scratched to death. He had caused her so much trouble and pain over the years that she just wanted to get rid of him once and for all. But what could she do? He was Head Boy, and she didn't think that Dumbledore would understand if she killed off her partner.  
  
Malfoy was goggling at her creepily.  
  
"Malfoy, you will never be able to do anything to me. I'm too quick. I'm too smart-"  
  
A small noise produced in Hermione's ear from her right side. It was a small boy with red hair that was gazing anxiously at the pair when he reached at the other side of the doorway.  
  
She stood up, observed the kid, and said sardonically, "You can go fetch Professor Snape and tell him to-err-clean this-" she pointed at the frozen figure of Malfoy "-mess up."  
  
For a second, the boy gave Malfoy a worried look, but then he went back into the Great Hall, probably in search of Professor Snape.  
  
Dominantly, Hermione hopped past Malfoy's still body and marched right across the corridor. She couldn't believe that Malfoy had once again tried to attack her. They would certainly have to deal with him one day, and Hermione couldn't wait until that day came...  
  
  
  
The warm autumn wind brushed against her soft cheek and flew back her long frizzy hair as Hermione took a step out the door of the Hogwarts castle. It was heaven; she inhaled the fresh air that surrounded, making her feel two years younger, and the colorful and blended smell of the dead leaves couldn't be any more replenishing.  
  
It had been weeks since Hermione had been outside, definitely getting tired of gazing at white bed sheets and the dull hospital room all day. She twirled herself around in happiness without realizing what she was doing, suddenly stopping as she took note of a lanky girl walking past and staring at her incredulously.  
  
But the glory of being outside did not last long in Hermione's heart. Harry slowly crept back into her mind like a slithering snake. What was going to happen to him? The terrible conclusion of the struggle between Harry and Lord Voldemort was drawing near, as Harry was no longer a teen. A full-grown man he was, with so much power and knowledge that even she couldn't compare to. But on the other hand, he had been through so much pain and sorrow that nobody in the world could even come close to...  
  
Harry just couldn't go to the Ministry of Magic again; she wouldn't let him. Her whole body shivered just at the thought of twirling hallways, zooming dark blue doors, diamond-shimmering floors, towers filled with dusty glass orbs, and the worst of all, deadly Death Eaters...  
  
But if Harry did go, she would have to assist him, because she wouldn't let him face Voldemort by himself, and she didn't think that Ron would either.  
  
As she was thinking, the image of Ron came to her. His flaming red hair had looked so cute today, the slightly long strands coming down and touching his wide forehead. Something was changing between them, and it wasn't just height or age. Hermione perceived him with a different perspective, not the annoying old boy who annoyed her constantly and asked to copy her homework a hundred times, but a man who was now ambitious whenever she was around him now, there were different kinds of feelings brewing around in the air.  
  
A few minutes passed by and she gazed at her surroundings. Dark owls were flying freely in the air, some entering the windows of the castle and others heading out. A few students were doing their homework and chattering and laughing along.  
  
Hermione still had about a half an hour to go before she had Potions, so she took out her Charms homework and poured her mind into that for the time being. She had so much homework to catch up on and knew that there was no chance that she was going to get the time to sleep that night.  
  
The sound of ruffled pages filled the classroom as the Gryffindor students collected their things and stacked them into their book bags. Transfiguration was coming to an end and the only new thing Hermione had learned of in the past hour and a half was that a load of homework was piled up on her head.  
  
The voice of Professor McGonagall rang out in the noisy room, "Make sure you finish the review. It is essential that you memorize all of the points of Transfiguring animals and objects. The sooner you start preparing for N.E.W.T's, the better. Class dismissed."  
  
Both Hermione and Ron stood up together, gathered up their things, and walked out the door as Hermione was telling about what had happened earlier with Malfoy.  
  
"...So I froze him quickly and then this kid came and saw and I told him to go fetch Snape."  
  
Ron shook his head in disgust, "Is that his number one goal in life, to make your life a living hell?"  
  
  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was." Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. We will kill him one day...and I'll take the pleasure of performing that task."  
  
"Killing isn't always the answer, Ron."  
  
"True, but for Malfoy it is. Can't believe someone could hate someone else so much. What did you ever do?" Ron said solemnly.  
  
"What have I been doing to him for the past 7 years? Nothing at all!"  
  
"Exactly," He said, observing her seriously, "you are the most intelligent and diligent person I have ever known, and I can't believe someone could despise you to that extent."  
  
  
  
Her cheeks turned the shade of crimson, "Uh...thanks."  
  
Ron's face turned red too, and he didn't say anything else as they walked in the hallway.   
  
The tension between the two of them stayed static until Ron spoke out, "So, when are we going to that bathroom tonight?"  
  
"Around 8 o' clock, we'll meet at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom." Hermione informed him.  
  
"Right. Let's just hope that no one sees us going in there." Said Ron. She could tell that he was thinking back to their second year at Hogwarts when Percy had caught Ron, Hermione, and Harry exiting the girl's bathroom.  
  
"They won't," she said, "just make sure you bring Harry."  
  
"Sure thing. What other better thing does he have planned on a Friday night than to take part in a nice little meeting in the girl's bathroom?"  
  
"Don't you think I have other priorities?" Hermione retorted, "I could be studying, or catching up on the tons of homework I've landed today, or taking care of the loads of prefect duties..."  
  
"Ok, ok!" Ron held his arms out defensively.  
  
"Harry is cracking. If we don't settle this soon, then the same thing will happen as last year."  
  
"No doubt."  
  
"We have to stop him from this madness, or he will...well, you know..."  
  
"Don't remind me," said Ron, gloomily, "but we can't prevent him from things he wants to do...and one day he will have to face him."  
  
Hermione didn't utter a word; there was too much truth to what Ron had said.  
  
Both of them headed upstairs to the Common Room, and Ron went to the boys' dormitory to get his Quidditch robes and broomstick.  
  
Hermione looked around the room and approached Dean and Seamus settled on a table with their heads towering over books and thick rolls of parchment.  
  
"Hello, you two. Mind if I join you?"  
  
They both levitated their heads up and Seamus spoke, "Yeah."  
  
She sat down on the wooden chair across from them and took out her Transfiguration book. Looking around the Common Room. Hermione realized that it was more packed and noisier than usual. The chatter was more enthusiastic, maybe having to do with the glorious weather outside.  
  
"Hermione, did you finish that Transfiguration review yet?" Dean asked, with his rolls of parchment in front of him.  
  
"Not yet. I decided to study the basic principles of transfiguring objects first, and until I get to the fourth section, I'm not going to start it."  
  
"That's too bad." He commented, looking more disappointed than he needed to.  
  
Someone tapped her from the back and Hermione turned around. It was a frustrated looking Ginny who had a book in her hand and a quill in the other.  
  
"Can you help me out with this?" She walked around and stood next to her.  
  
Hermione hesitated for a bit, since she did have a lot of studying to get to, but then said, "All right."  
  
"Hey sweetz." Dean said in a bubbly voice, giving Ginny the look.  
  
"Hello yourself." She replied dreamily, giving him a soft peck on the cheek and then settling down next to Hermione.  
  
Hermione smirked involuntarily. Dean and Ginny had been together for over a year now, and they never seemed to get tired of greeting each other the same way over and over again.  
  
As Hermione helped Ginny with her essay about Dryads (mythical female creatures who guarded trees), Ron strolled to their table.  
  
"I'll see you later." He said to Hermione.  
  
She stared at him for about two seconds, and then nodded. She watched his tall, lanky figure walk away and get smaller until he left the room. Hermione returned her gaze to the group to find all three of them smirking at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
" 'I'll see you later.' " Seamus mimicked Ron's voice playfully, followed by a chuckle, "What's going on between you two?"  
  
"Nothing." Hermione pronounced. She could feel herself blush, as her cheeks grew warmer.  
  
"Oh really?" Ginny spoke, "I heard that little Ronny was giving you quite a few visits there at the Hospital Wing. Correct me if I'm wrong?"  
  
"Shut up." Hermione retorted, causing all of them to laugh continuously.  
  
"Well, your brother and Hermione are perfect together, aren't they?" Dean said to Ginny.  
  
"I suppose so." She replied, giving Hermione a short wink.  
  
Hermione spoke in an almost normal voice; "I thought you wanted help with your homework."  
  
  
  
  
  
A fast hour had passed and Hermione had finally gotten to her studying. She gazed out the window and observed the luke-warm sunset. It was almost dark and she could feel the cool atmosphere rejuvenate her insides and smell the pine-fresh scent producing from the trees and flowers.  
  
To the far right was the massive quidditch field resting right next to the deep Forbidden Forest. Hermione caught miniscule figures zooming around in midair that were on broomsticks. She couldn't recognize who was who, but on the left side of the field, a distinct blur that was positioned in front of the goalposts caught her eye.  
  
A fluttering noise caught Hermione's attention. In the red-orange sky, an owl was flying towards the castle. As it drew near, its direction was towards the window that Hermione was staring out of.  
  
The owl found itself inside the Gryffindor common room when Hermione moved out of its way. It was a scrawny little gray owl with nonstop fluttering wings that was hovered above her head now.  
  
Everyone in the room watched the owl as it dropped a yellow-colored letter in Hermione's hands and left out the window in haste.  
  
To get away from everyone's curious eyes, she went to one corner and ripped open the letter in full curiosity.   
  
  
  
Dear Hermione,  
  
Hello Hermione. I just received your letter a few days ago and I'm glad you informed me about this. These unusual dreams you talk about are not much to lead on, because they could be just normal nightmares. But on the other hand, there could be some purpose or connection in relevation to these dreams, so be careful.   
  
I hope school and everything else is going on well. One more thing I want to mention. Please keep an eye on Harry. I know what's going on in his head and I can tell him what to do but I highly doubt that he will listen to me. It's much better to get advice from your friends than your adult role models, I once heard and experienced.   
  
Write back if anything else takes place and if you are worried about something, owl me. Farewell!  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Lupin 


	5. Bathroom Visits

Chapter 5 – Bathroom Visits  
  
A tattered wooden door decorated with the sign "OUT OF ORDER" creaked open when Hermione won the struggle against the doorknob. In front of her was the same isolated and ancient-looking bathroom as Hermione had remembered it to be four years ago; the only difference was the condition of it had worsened, if that was even possible. The tiles on the hard floor were cracked and torn apart, as if an earthquake had occurred and destroyed the floor. The stalls on the right of her were battered up, with some folding at the top and others were unscrewed completely. Hermione held her nose for a minute; she couldn't stand the disgusting, moldy smell that hovered in the bathroom.  
  
"Ha." Ron declared, following her cautiously, "This bathroom just keeps on getting better and better every year."  
  
Hermione couldn't agree more. There were distinguishing black marks on the dusty sinks that looked like burns on crumpled up skin. Even the stale air of the abandoned bathroom felt negative, keeping her on alert by looking from her left to her right constantly, as if something unusual was about to jump at her.  
  
"Nobody's here yet." She whispered.  
  
"I am." Someone spoke. Hermione gasped and jumped on her feet simultaneously. One of the stalls opened and out came a gaunt-faced girl with pearly eyeglasses and black hair.   
  
Hermione's heart cooled down a bit, "Oh, it's only you."  
  
The ghost of Moaning Myrtle swiveled around them a few times and came to a sudden stop. Hermione never thought that she would be back in there; it felt quite weird to see Myrtle glaring at both of them. She spoke, "Oooo…You're back!"  
  
"Uh…yeah." Ron mumbled.  
  
"But where's Harry?" She asked with anticipation, with her eyes fluttering.  
  
"He's-"  
  
The door opened and as if on cue, Harry stepped into the bathroom reluctantly and caught Moaning Myrtle, Ron, and Hermione standing (or floating) in the middle.   
  
Moaning Myrtle gave an oh of surprise and held her hands to her cheek.  
  
Harry backed up a step when he saw Moaning Myrtle gliding to him. Hermione could sense some heavy duty attraction occurring between them. She heard Ron cough playfully.  
  
"Myrtle, could you leave us alone?" Ron told her annoyingly.  
  
The gray ghost of Moaning Myrtle glared at Ron for a moment, and then burst into sudden tears.  
  
"Nobody wants me!" She whimpered and sobbed, but there was no sign of tears.  
  
Ron glanced at Hermione desperately, and she said, "Fine, you can stay, but if you say a word to anyone about this, you're-you're…"  
  
Myrtle's eyes widened, "What…dead?" And with that, she cried some more.  
  
Harry, who had placed himself on the floor at a corner, rolled his eyes.  
  
"All right! Stay!" Hermione fumigated. She caught Harry's gaze. He was taking a look at the circular-shaped sink tower with sinks on each side. Something peculiar was coming out of one of the sinks; a forest-green colored plant that seemed to be increasing in size every second. It was coming out of the broken tap.  
  
"What is that?" Hermione whispered.  
  
Ron and Harry exchanged looks.  
  
"Wasn't that the entrance to…?" Said Ron  
  
"The Chamber of Secrets?" Harry finished for him, "yeah, that was what I figured."  
  
"Reducio!" Hermione yelled out, pointing her wand at the plant.  
  
At that moment, the door opened once again and Neville trotted in, "McGonagall spotted me coming this way." He said, with a bizarre look on his face.  
  
All three laughed. Hermione could just picture the surprised face of McGonagall as she saw Neville head in the girl's bathroom.   
  
"It's not funny," Neville said, "She started questioning me, asking me why I was going in the girl's bathroom. She got suspicious, but then I said I was going to Professor Sprout's office for help."  
  
"I doubt if she bought that." Harry snorted.  
  
"She didn't. I had to walk all the way to Sprout's office and then walk back here."  
  
A feeling of worry came upon Hermione. McGonagall wasn't dense. She probably knew that they were up to something, since she had seen Neville coming this way, and Neville wasn't exactly the best liar. If she did suspect something, she would probably tell Dumbledore. _But that's a good thing, isn't it?  
_  
"She probably knows you're in here anyways, Neville." Hermione said.  
  
"Does it really matter?" Ron spoke in a nonchalant tone, "Even if she does catch us in here, we'll just say that we came to visit Myrtle or something like that…Or at least that Harry came here to visit her and made us tag along."  
  
Hermione giggled, along with Neville and Ron while Moaning Myrtle blushed a surprising crimson red and gave Harry a surreptitious look. Harry, on the other hand, rolled his eyes for a second time and said, "Very funny."  
  
"I thought we were here to talk about Harry." Hermione directed, bringing her hair up into a messy ponytail.  
  
"All right, what's your plan?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry sighed, "Okay," he observed Ron and Hermione, "I'll tell you, but you both have to promise not to go babble this to everyone."  
  
Hermione glanced at Ron. Even though she wanted to say yes, she couldn't. The gut feeling in her stomach told her that whatever Harry's plan was, it was going to have dangerous consequences.  
  
"We will-" Ron started, but she interrupted, "No. We're not promising to keep your plans a secret until you promise us that you won't do anything reckless without informing us first."  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows, "If you're talking about what happened at the end of last year-"  
  
"That is exactly what I'm talking about, Harry. When you were missing, we were so worried that we had to go to Dumbledore and tell him what was going on."  
  
Ron nodded in agreement, "Only then, we found out about that prophecy. Couldn't believe my ears, I tell you. Couldn't believe that you didn't tell us, mate."  
  
"I didn't want you to worry." Harry looked away from them to Moaning Myrtle, or through her.  
  
Emotion swept over Hermione. She sighed deeply, "We're your friends, are we not? You used to tell me and Ron everything. You used tell me and Ron everything, and lately, you barely talk to us about school and Quidditch, let alone Voldemort or the prophecy."  
  
Harry's face flared up like a torch, "So what are you saying? That I'm not a good enough friend? Maybe I don't want to tell you. You have no IDEA what it is to be me. YOU-"   
  
"Hey, hey!" Ron broke in, "that's not what she meant. I think she's just hurt about the fact that our friendship isn't as strong as it was before."  
  
Hermione felt a surge of gratitude at Ron's words. She had never heard Ron say something like that. He was usually the annoying boy who would say out-of-place things and act in an insensitive pattern.  
  
In a long time, Neville spoke, "I think I know where you're coming from. Maybe it would help if they knew about what was going on."  
  
"We're here to help you, Harry. We can help you get through this. So, promise us that you'll keep us updated, and we won't tell anyone what you're planning unless it's completely unreasonable." Hermione observed Harry curiously. She had a pretty good idea about what was going on in his head.  
  
"All right. I'm planning to go to the Department of Mysteries, get through that door of unknown magic that Dumbledore was talking about, get that power and then ambush one of Voldemort's followers and when they lead me to him, I'll…umm…kill him." As Harry said that, Ron and Neville's faces reached a height of graveness, but Hermione snorted.  
  
"You think it's easy to kill? Even if it is Voldemort, do you think you can commit murder?"  
  
"But he has to do it…one time or another." Said Neville, scared at the thought that he could have been the one that the prophecy was referring to.  
  
"He has plenty of time!" Ron said with fury, "Harry, you should wait until you've learned enough about magic and had experience."  
  
"Experience, eh? I think whatever I've been going up against for the past 6 years or so is enough experience for anyone. And time…do you think I'm going to wait around while innocent people are getting killed?"  
  
"But, Harry…" Hermione was at a loss of words. He was right, it had to be done, but Harry wasn't prepared for it. With every single encounter Harry had had with Voldemort, he had come out of it barely alive. "Even if you do decide to get to the Ministry, you never will." Hermione said, causing Harry's face to contort in confusion. "I mean, that you're guarded and watched everywhere you go. Dumbledore is going to know when you run off, and he's going to stop you, whatever the prophecy might contain. You're too young to be going up against him."  
  
"Look, Hermione," started Harry, "I know you're saying all of this out of concern, but I have to do this."  
  
Hermione was so frustrated. When is he going to get some sense?  
  
"Jus don't do anything without telling us first." Ron articulated.  
  
"I won't." Harry replied, looking down at the dirty floor.  
  
All of the stench around Hermione was starting to make her feel a bit woozy. She got on her feet and began to wipe her robes clean, "As much as I would love to continue this chat, I think I'm going to head to the Common Room. A pile of homework is waiting for me."  
  
…  
  
Hermione took a seat on a chair by the window and opened her Herbology homework first. She couldn't believe the amount of homework she had to catch up to. She had five hands-on projects, approximately three essays in each of Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Arithmancy. Just thinking about it made her head swirl. If I fail any of the subjects, I swear I will kill Malfoy…  
  
As she was writing an essay on Pixie Dust, Harry and Neville came in.  
  
"We're both going to bed." Harry said, with Neville behind him.  
  
"At 9:00?"   
  
"Yeah." Both spoke at the same time and they looked at each other, smirking.  
  
"And where's Ron?"  
  
"Oh…he went to the library." Oddly, Neville laughed at this comment, and both of them headed upstairs to the bus dormitory.   
  
"Good night!"  
  
Men. She just hoped that they weren't planning anything. Lupin's letter suddenly came to mind, in which he had written 'keep a watch on him'. How am I supposed to keep a watch on him between piles of homework, being Head Girl, and dealing with Draco Malfoy every single day?  
  
About a half an hour passed by until Ron made his entry in the Common Room, with a pile of books in his hands.   
  
"What are all those for?" Hermione asked in as Ron put all the books down and sat next to her.  
  
"They'll come in handy for all those essays you have left to do. I thought I'd help you…since I don't have anything to do…"  
  
For a moment, she just stared at him. She didn't know for how long, but something in his bright eyes was captivating her like no one else had before.  
  
"If you don't want me to, it's okay." He said with insecurity.  
  
"Huh? No, of course I want help." She spoke. She was still amazed at how much Ron had changed. It was like he was a whole new person, one that did their homework, study, take visits to the hospital wing every single day… 


	6. Diaries and Dances

Chapter 6 – Diaries and Dances  
  
"Do you mean to say that he still hasn't asked you to the dance?" said Ginny, with disbelief. Hermione was in the Great Hall having an early breakfast because she couldn't sleep, and surprisingly, she had found Ginny doing her homework alone.  
  
"Who do you mean by 'he'?" Hermione pronounced, even though she perfectly knew who Ginny was talking about.  
  
"Ron! Who else?"  
  
Hermione's cheeks were getting warmer. It had kind of occurred to her too, wondering why Ron still hadn't asked her to go to the Halloween dance with him. Consciously, Hermione had prepared for it. All of those long daily visits had a lot of value for her, along with the endless homework Ron had helped her finish the night before. If felt kind of reassuring to have someone there for her that protected, helped, and watched over her, and Hermione wanted that feeling to last forever.  
  
He had had about a hundred chances to ask her, but he hadn't. Maybe he's already going with someone...  
  
Apparently, Ginny seemed to know what was going on inside her head, "He's not going with anyone."  
  
"Maybe he would prefer to wait and ask another girl, you know how he is-"  
  
"He's a coward, that's what I know." Ginny smirked, "You haven't been around for a while to know what's going on around here. Harry has been teasing Ron because they know that Ickle Ronnie worships you in every single way, but doesn't have the guts to tell you, or make a move."  
  
Hermione snorted. "He worships me? That's just bull."  
  
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You know more than I do that Ron's liked you for ages, but he was too dimwitted to figure it out, and lately, his hormones have been working over time."  
  
""No, I think that would be your hormones." Hermione retorted, suddenly thinking of Dean.  
  
Ginny ignored her. "Viktor Krum. Need I say more?"  
  
"Boo-hoo." said Hermione, in a boring voice, "but he has been acting really strange, and I kind of miss having the old Ron around. I don't even get to argue with him anymore."  
  
"How sad..." Ginny said sarcastically, as she gathered her things and got up from the table to leave for Quidditch Practice.  
  
"You know what?" Hermione started, "I don't care. If he wants to ask me, he can, and if he doesn't, then that's that. Plus I can think of about a dozen other things to do than waste my time on silly dances."  
  
"Well, all I have to say about this is the person that says they don't care is actually the one that cares more than they think they do. So if I were you, I would give him a Love Potion or something of the sort to get him back to reality and stop acting like a moron, not that I am you..."  
  
...  
  
Hermione was now in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tonks stood in front of the class with a smile on her face, her vivid pink hair spiking up on her head.  
  
"Today, we will be continuing with learning about countercurses and counterjinx, and then tomorrow they will be put into practice. Take notes please!" said Tonks.  
  
A whole hour passed with Tonks lecturing about the most common curses and jinxes. Normally, a Defense against the Dark Arts class was exhilarating and fast paced, but today it seemed slower than a History of Magic Lesson.  
  
As the Professor rambled, Hermione took out her diary. She didn't know why, but she did not feel like taking notes on a subject that had been mastered in her mind years before. For the first time ever in an ongoing class, her mind was somewhere else.  
  
October 14,  
  
The days are going by rather quickly. Yesterday, Harry, Ron, Neville, and I had a meeting where I found out that Harry's planning to go to the Department of Mysteries again. Every time that place is mentioned, I get an eerie feeling. I imagine how Harry must deal with it, the place where Sirius died...  
Ron and I can't stop him anymore. I think we should start nwow by preparing him, teaching him all of these countercurses that Tonks is talking about right now...  
...What Ginny said at breakfast is true. Ron needs to be confronted, but I don't know how to approach him. If I say one offensive thing, he'll put on his defensive barrier and act like an idiot...  
But I can't believe that he's been acting so weird! It's like he's totally another person. Last night, he helped me out with all of my homework. For a minute, I was shocked. For the past six years, I have been doing his homework and helping him get through in their classes, but yesterday...wow. I always knew Ron had some academic potential, but I never thought I would actually be around long enough to see it. Maybe I should just ask him to the dance. It would be really awkward...  
  
"Er-what are you writing in?" Hermione was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she jumped at Harry's voice.  
  
"Nothing." She said, which gave Harry more suspicion but stayed quiet. Hermione frantically closed her diary and let Tonk's voice tune back in her head.  
  
"...One of the most powerful and effective curses, followed by the Unforgivable Curses, is the Morbida curse, which can damage a person's brain and cause short-term memory loss. A countercurse is provided, which works when you say the word 'defendo'. It is similar to the Shield Charm..." Hermione was anxious to try the countercurse for that the next day, just in case Malfoy decided to ambush her again.  
  
It was the end of class, and Hermione, Ron, and Harry got up to leave when Tonks beckoned Hermione to her desk.  
  
"All right there, Hermione?" said Tonks with deep concern, "you were in the Hospital Wing for quite a long time."  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately. What do I have to catch up on?"  
  
"More than you can handle, I'm afraid." said Tonks, and gave her a roll of parchment with full of assignments written. "What are you going to the Halloween Dance as?"  
  
"I don't know yet. Actually, I might not go." said Hermione.  
  
"You cannot miss the Halloween Dance! I will be going as a banshee. I'm going to have my voice magnified and my skin paled. I hope I scare the cloaks off those kids."  
  
Hermione gathered her books and left the classroom. She was walking slowly in the corridor when she realized that her diary was missing. Her heart jolted in and out, and all kinds of thoughts ran inside her head. What if someone took it? What if someone read it? What if Tonks found it?  
  
Calm down, Hermione told herself as she rushed down on the opposite side of the corridor and back into the Defense Against the Dark Arts Room. Tonks's next class hadn't begun yet, so the classroom was still empty.  
  
Tonks looked up in surprise.  
  
"Erm-I forgot something-can I look for it?" Hermione muttered, breathing heavily.  
  
"Of course." said Tonks.  
  
Hermione scanned her seat, the desks, and she put her head down to check under the desks, but nothing was there.  
  
Oh no. Someone had her diary, and for all she knew, they could be reading it right now. In it was things about Ron, her dreams, the Order, and other things that she didn't want other people to read. Why didn't I put a spell on it to lock it? Why couldn't I have written in Invisible Ink?  
  
"Found it yet?" Tonks asked from across the room.  
  
"Hermione got on her feet. "No, maybe someone took it.  
  
Tonks said that she would inform her if she found something, and Hermione took her leave once again.  
  
...  
  
The evening settled in as Hermione headed to the Gryffindor Common Room. Rain was pouring outside and lightning thundered, blowing away the trees in the Forbidden Forest. She spotted Harry sitting on a chair, immensely absorbed in something, with his back turned to her. She peaked over his shoulder, and in an instantaneous moment, she screamed. 


	7. Mystery and Betrayal

Chapter 7 – Mystery and Betrayal

"Her-mi-one!" Harry gagged, as Hermione beat him furiously with a heavy book from her backpack. Everyone's attention was now turned to them like being an audience in a television show, but Hermione didn't care. She wouldn't have been surprised if there'd been fumes coming out of her ears, because this surpassed anything, even her unfortunate run-ins with Malfoy.

"Hermione!" Ginny pleaded, standing about a few feet away, "Have you lost your mind? Let him go!"

Hermione dropped the book and took a step back.

"How dare you?" She said in the most dangerous voice.

"I didn't do it on purpose! You left the book on the desk, so I just took it! How was I supposed to know that it was your diary?"

"So you opened it and still didn't figure out that it was my diary? I know you're dense, but no one could be that dumb."

Hermione crossed her arms in fury, and she was about to speak but Ginny beat her, "Harry, that was very wrong of you. Hermione, cool it for a bit and sit down. And what is everyone looking at?" said Ginny, glaring at everyone in the room, "Show's over! Go about your business!" With that, everyone looked away and started talking amongst themselves, but not necessarily about their own business.

Hermione dropped herself on the couch across from Harry. She sighed, "How much did you read?"

From the look on Harry's face, any answer that would be said would be the wrong answer. "Er-parts of it."

"What parts?"

"The good parts," said Harry, with a hint of a grin. Hermione glared at him and was about to get up and ready to strike, but Ginny let out her hand between them.

"You might just want to go ahead and ask Ron to the dance, because he's never going to do it." said Harry.

"What is he afraid of? He asked me to the Yule Ball in our fourth year."

"Yeah, but that was at the last minute when he didn't have a partner. This time he really wants to ask you."

"Then why doesn't he?" said Hermione, with irritation.

"I think he's afraid of the fact that he likes you too much."

"So I've heard." She said sardonically and looked at Ginny.

"They would make such a sweet pair, don't you agree, Harry?" said Ginny.

"Uh-huh."

"You know what, I think I'm going to go ask him right now." said Hermione, full of adrenaline, and jumped up like a spring. Harry and Ginny looked at her in surprise. As she walked away to leave the common room, she heard Harry say, "I think she's losing it."

Hermione made her way through the castle to Professor McGonagall's office where Ron and the other prefects were supposed to be doing their duties that night. Her chest was thumping like crazy and she was sweating. Something had woken up inside her that was making her go crazy. Either she hadn't gotten enough sleep, or she was really losing it.

Hermione was halfway to her destination when someone turned the hall and came face to face with her. It was Ron.

They both stopped and stared at each other for what seemed like ages to Hermione.

"Well?" said Hermione.

"Well what?" said Ron, looking at her confusingly.

"Isn't there something you want to ask me?"

"Erm..."

"Oh forget it!" screeched Hermione, and turned to leave, but Ron grabbed her arm with full force.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" said Ron in a timid voice, letting go of her hand.

Hermione beamed at him.

The night of the Halloween dance had finally arrived. Hermione was in her dormitory, observing herself in the mirror. She touched her bushy hair and frowned. She was tired of looking like she did day after day, so a decision had come upon her to make a sudden change and dye her hair black. She knew her parents wouldn't approve so she decided she would change it back after the dance. It took her about a few minutes to make the Hair-Dye Potion, and nervously, she drank it.

Hermione looked in the mirror and was astonished at the difference of her appearance. The black hair made her ivory skin look pale, but it made her gray eyes stand out and her cheekbones appeared smoother and rounder. She brushed her hair for about five minutes, and then moved on to fitting into her costume.

"Wow." Hermione heard someone mutter as she walked down the steps to the common room. Clutching to her skin tightly was a soft-as-silk forest green colored dress that came above knee length and had a very low cut neckline. The dress was backless, which was putting the chills in her. She was also wearing a necklace of fresh mint leaves along with a matching crown lying upon her curly (not bushy) black hair.

"You-look-amazing." said Ron, goggling at her from top to bottom. Hermione could tell that Ron had dressed himself up as a vampire, because he was wearing a massive black cloak, and as he stared at her with his mouth open, she could see his bloody fang teeth.

"Thanks. You're not looking too bad yourself. You're not planning to bite me, are you?"

"That's up to me. What are you supposed to be anyway?"

"A Dryad."

Hermione saw the puzzling look on Ron's face, "They're spirits of nature. They protect trees in the forest. _Don't you ever read?"_

"Why would I when I can ask you?" said Ron simply, "shall we go?"

The Great Hall had completely transformed into a party hall. Hermione could taste the flavor of carved pumpkins that were floating in midair, and smell the sweet-scented candles that gave a glimmering orange-glow in the room. There were pumpkins placed in every corner and above them were orange lights, almost looking like Christmas lights. At several places, there were scarecrows that were talking amongst each other, and the House ghosts were gliding around the room and making wailing noises. They're the only ones around here who don't need costumes, she thought. The dance floor was filled with half of the Hogwarts students while the other half were pigging out near the dinner tables, especially on candy.

As they both walked together in the Great Hall, Hermione could see everyone's heads turning. They were gawking at her like a supermodel had just walked in, and suddenly, she felt very uncomfortable. After all, it wasn't everyday that she walked around the school half naked.

"Everyone's looking at me." She whispered in Ron's ear.

"Of course they are. What did you expect?" said Ron, laughing.

She decided to change the subject, "Who is Harry coming with?"

"Loony Lovegood."

Hermione snorted. Luna Lovegood was one of the most unusual girls she had ever met, or probably the most unusual girl that ever existed. Either it was the fact that she wore peculiar things like carrot-topped earrings that made her different or that she believed in things that didn't exist, like heliopaths or Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, or the fact that she just looked strange.

At that moment, Luna appeared next to them with a dreamy look on her face. She was wearing a raggedy old tea cozy, and fake bat-like ears were situated on the top of her head. Next to her was a figure with black robes and a hood on the top that completely covered his face.

"Harry, is that you?" Ron said curiously.

Harry pulled off his hood and before he could reply, he noticed Hermione and his eyes widened.

"Wow," he said, still staring at her, "You look stunning."

Luna scowled at him, which finally made him come back to his senses. "Come on, let's dance!" she exclaimed and pulled Harry by the shoulder to the dance floor.

"Um...shall we go get something to eat?" said Ron nervously.

"Oh no." said Hermione, "we're going to dance."

"No way. I don't know how!"

"You will. It's easy." And with that, they both headed to the dance floor next to Dumbledore and McGonagall on one side and Ginny and Dean on the other.

Hermione looked at Ron in the eye, "Put your hands here," she put his hands on her waist, "and now, just look at me and go with the flow." She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, and they swayed slowly to the music. Ron was gazing at her as if he'd never seen her before. She felt like that they were having a staring contest because neither of them blinked their eyes.

It was like a Cinderella moment. Hermione felt wonderful and thought everything in the world was beautiful right about now. She forgot all the foul things in the world for a moment, she forgot all about school, and who knew what else and just savored Ron from top to bottom.

In the past six years, Hermione had never realized how attractive Ron was. His red hair shined even if he was twenty feet away, and he had the cutest nose and puffy lips that she had the instant urge to kiss...

_And he's extremely tall,_ she thought as her arms started to get tired.

About three songs passed and Ron spoke, "Let's take a break."

"Alright."

"Where'd you learn to dance like that?" said Ron, as they walked their way to the tables.

"I don't know. I guess if you just go with the rhythm of the music, anyone can dance."

"No they can't." said Ron, grinning.

They reached the tables and Hermione grabbed some apple pie and pumpkin juice. When she turned around, Ron wasn't there.

_Where'd he go? _She walked around the Great Hall slowly, and after a few minutes she spotted him standing next to Dean and Seamus, looking awfully cheerful. Hermione was annoyed. Did he have to wander off like that? She felt like a fool standing there all by herself, and she was about to go find Harry when she heard someone behind her.

"Dance with me." Hermione turned around and jumped in surprise, spilling half of her drink on her dress. _Damn._

For a minute, she thought it was Harry under the tall black-hooded figure as he took her hand, but she spotted Harry dancing wildly with Luna far away. The figure took out his wand and pointed it at Hermione's dress, _"Evanesco!"_

He grabbed her and they danced smoothly to the music. So far, the only thing she knew about this person's identity was that he had pale skin, from the look of his hands.

"Who are you?" Hermione whispered in his ear, or the place where his ear supposedly should be.

"Your worst nightmare." He had a scratchy voice, almost as if he was attempting to disguise it.

Then she thought it was Malfoy, but when Hermione observed the Great Hall, she saw Malfoy standing in the corner with Crabbe and Goyle. Who was it?

"Uh huh." _This is getting too weird._ She detached herself from him like pulling away from a magnetic force and went to Ron. Each second she kept on throwing glances behind her, and she could perceive the figure following her.

Hermione paced herself, because now she was getting scared. Her heart had been beating twice as fast after dancing, but now it was beating four times as fast. But what she saw next almost gave her a heart attack.

It was Ron. He was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with another girl. She was extremely gorgeous, with strawberry-blonde hair and red luscious lips that were too close to Ron. Hermione saw that she was almost as tall as Ron, making her look thin and slender in her dragon scale costume.

A vile feeling erupted all through Hermione. She had an urge to go right up to them and slap the slut in the face and then hex Ron, but she didn't do anything of the sort, because in the next second, the tall girl and Ron were kissing.

_How could he? _Hermione felt moist tears forming in her eyes. In her ears, the music and the laughing all around her stopped abruptly. She looked away from them and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Her whole face was covered with tears now, and she had mascara spots trailing down her eyes. Hermione couldn't believe it. Ron liked her, not some trashy girl that he didn't even know. Ron loved her, and she knew it.

Then why was he dancing with her? _Maybe I'm not worth anything anymore. Maybe he really didn't want to ask me to the dance._

Maybe he didn't. After all, it was she who went to him first and forced him to ask her. She felt like beating herself up for going to Ron first.

Hermione entered the Gryffindor Common Room and collapsed on one of the couches. She had never felt so betrayed and devastated as she did now. She cried and cried as if there was no end to it. She couldn't see anything or feel anything around her, and one thing she certainly didn't perceive was the black-hooded figure standing near the entrance door to the common room, watching her very closely.


	8. Curses and Apologies

Chapter 8 – Curses and Apologies

Hermione was completely dazed. She was dancing with a full grown Grawp in the Great Hall and wasn't scared at all. Then in a flash, she was cooking something on a hot stove. She peered into the saucepan and saw bits and pieces of the house elf Dobby. In the next flash, Hermione was walking on a path.

Dark evergreen trees were bunched up around her, making her feel like she was surrounded by enemies. There was no light whatsoever because the trees were blocking the sun. Hermione could smell something pungent in the air and could taste the moistness of the reviving air. She was in the Forbidden Forest…

Hermione kept on walking ahead with no fear, but only anxiety. Why was she in the Forbidden Forest?

Something was coming into view, but her surroundings were fading away slowly until everything went blank.

Hermione opened her eyes. Her body was resting on the fluffy red couch and she saw that she was still in the Common Room. It was still empty, except for someone that was scurrying in. She closed her eyes instantly.

Footsteps advanced toward her, and a familiar voice spoke, "She's sleeping."

It was Ginny. Hermione wanted to wipe her face so she wouldn't see that she had been crying, but she also didn't want to talk to Ginny, so she kept her eyes closed.

"Look at her face. She's a mess." said a male voice. It was Dean.

"Go upstairs, I'll talk to her for a bit and then we can go back." said Ginny.

"Good luck." said Dean, and after the soft sound of a kiss, Hermione heard Dean walk away.

"Hermz. Hermione." Ginny prodded her lightly, and then after a few seconds more intensely, and she decided she couldn't pretend to be asleep any longer.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Ginny was sweaty in the face, but also had a concerned look as she observed her friend.

"Are you alright?" said Ginny.

_Do I look alright?_ Hermione sniffed and wiped her face to get the mascara off.

"I'm fine." Hermione lied, getting up from the couch.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"This is about Ron, isn't it?" said Ginny, in a matter of fact tone.

Hermione didn't answer.

"He got drunk, Hermoine. Dean told me that he brought some beer from Hogsmeade, or actually, someone else brought it for him and I think Ron had too much and he went crazy."

"Sure he did." said Hermione sarcastically. Getting drunk didn't explain why he'd been dancing with another girl… kissing another girl… surely the girl would've been offended? Unless they'd known each other before.

"I'm serious. Harry took him up to the dormitory about a half an hour ago. He was totally out of it. We saw him all over some girl and she really didn't seem to mind…I was surprised…anyways, don't be made at him. He didn't know what he was doing."

Hermione gave a dry laugh. He knew exactly what he was doing, and from what Hermione had seen in the Great Hall, Ron had been smiling cheerfully.

"Whatever. I don't care. He didn't even want to ask me in the first place."

"Yes he did!" said Ginny in a defending voice, "he was just shy."

"No he didn't. I was the one who went to him remember?"

"It's a good thing you did because at least now Ron knows you like him."

"_Liked_ him." Hermione corrected her, "past tense."

"Oh come on, Hermione. It's his mistake, I get it. He shouldn't have drank that firewhisky, but give him a break. He's really confused right now and he's just a guy. Any guy would want to drink."

"Forget it!" Screamed Hermione, "he can snog that whore all his life. See if I care!" And with that, she stormed out of the Common Room and the last thing she heard from Ginny was, "Just sleep on it! I'll talk to you in the morning!"

Like she was actually going to change her mind. She settled herself on her bed and laid down with her eyes open. She stared up, not really looking at the wooden bed above her.

How could he? How could he kiss another girl when he hadn't even kissed her at the dance? How could he be stupid to drink so much that he got intoxicated?

She tried to forget about it and go to sleep but she couldn't. It kept floating back into her mind like a tidal wave. The image of Ron and the girl kept flashing in her head…

…

"Hermione." said Harry softly, trying to talk to her. It was morning and they were at breakfast in the normal Great Hall. Hermione was munching on a muffin as she read _Numeral Theology_, trying very hardly to ignore Harry's voice.

"What's wrong with her?" said Neville to Harry in a low voice, but Hermione could still him.

"Nothing." Replied Harry, helping himself to a strip of bacon.

Hermione looked around the Hall. There was still no sight of Ron.

"He's still in bed." said Harry, as an answer to her observations. She was trying to eat as fast as she could so she could get out of there quickly so she wouldn't have to face Ron.

"He's totally wiped out. Just forget about last night, Hermione."

Something racked back in Hermione's brain. Last night…

"Speaking of last night, was anyone else dressed as a dementor?"

"I don't know…probably not…why?" asked Harry curiously.

"Because someone tried to dance with me…first I thought it was you, but I saw you somewhere else…he followed me all around the Great Hall…"

Harry's eyes narrowed, "That's strange. Did you ask him who he was or see his face?"

"I asked him, but he said 'your worst nightmare'. What a fool. But there was something familiar about his voice…I'm sure I've heard it before…"

"Was it Malfoy?"

"Malfoy? No…he was standing with Crabbe and Goyle…" Hermione was deep in her thoughts…He had been tall…and now that she thought back to last night, his body had been powerful and firm, nothing like a normal Hogwarts student…

"I don't know then. Just be careful." said Harry.

"No…I don't think he was trying to hurt me…it was almost as if he was trying to seduce me…"

"Well, whatever he was doing, just be careful, and try not to ignore Ron when he tries to talk to you."

"Ha." shot Hermione. She got up from the table, gathered her things, and left the Hall.

…

Hermione was now in Defense Against the Dark Arts sitting next to Harry and Ron was positioned on the other side of Harry. Ron had tried to talk to her, but she had ignored him.

"Well, it's nothing," said Harry after Hermione separated herself from Ron, "you fight so much that I'm used to it. This is just another one of those fights."

But Hermione knew it wasn't. Class began a short time after.

Tonks stood up from her desk and spoke, "Today will be a short dueling lesson, and I'm sure a lot of you will like it. Please pair up with another person and take your place in the classroom." She flicked her wand and all of the desks in the room disappeared.

Fearing a conflict with Harry and Ron, she immediately asked Neville if she could be his partner and he agreed.

"Today we will be practicing the Darkness Curse which blinds a person for a short period of time so they are unable to attack their opponent afterwards." said Tonks.

Hermione saw Neville's face drop. There was no way he was going to curse Hermione and make her go blind.

She raised her hand.

"Yes, Hermione?" said Tonks, looking at her.

"How long will the spell last?"

"About a couple of minutes so don't worry. You won't be blind forever.

But Neville's face was still full of worry.

"Now, when you say the spell, you have to move your wand in a circular motion like this," she said, twirling her wand into a full circle, "make sure it makes a full circle, and then clearly say _Caeco!_"

"So for now, put away your wands and repeat after me. _Caeco_!"

"_Caeco!_" Everyone said loudly.

"Good. Now take out your wands and attempt to curse your partner when I say go."

Neville gulped nervously and raised his wand, and so did Hermione.

"Three…two…one…GO!"

The whole class twirled their wands and then shrieks rang out in the classroom, making it sound like it was haunted. Wands flew in all directions, and two people's cloaks were on fire. Hermione's wand produced a feeble blue strand of light that struck Neville, while Neville's wand fell to the ground.

Half a minute later, Tonks blew a whistle. 

"I can't see anything!" Neville said horrifyingly.

Instead of helping Neville, Tonks exclaimed, "Wonderful Hermione! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

…

The atmosphere was darkening heavily as Hermione walked through the corridors of Hogwarts. She was glad it was almost dinnertime because she was starving as the result of not eating breakfast and lunch properly.

A few minutes she was sitting at the Gryffindor table next to Ginny, eating chicken with full energy.

"So," started Ginny, "did you talk to Ron yet?"

Hermione dropped her food and her stomach gave a lurch. Couldn't she even eat in peace?

"No."

"But he tried to talk to you, am I right?"

"Yes, but I-" She cut off her sentence shortly. Ron was standing next to the table in front of them with his arms crossed. Apparently he had been listening to their whole conversation.

Hermione made to get up from the table, but Ginny stopped her.

"Hermione, I think we should talk." said Ron in an apologetic voice.

"I'll be back later." said Ginny and flew away at the speed of light before Hermione got to protest.

Ron sat down where Ginny had been sitting and gazed at her.

"I'm sorry." He said flat out.

"Oh really? What for?" said Hermione in a cold voice.

"For last night. I feel really bad. I shouldn't have drunk that firewhisky. I went out of control. I promise it won't happen again."

"That's what you're sorry for?" she said unbelievingly.

"Well…that and the other thing. Harry told me what happened, but to tell you the truth…I don't remember any of it. The last thing I remembered before waking up this morning was that I was standing with Dean and a couple of other guys."

It was unbelievable. Ron had been so drunk that he didn't even remember his first real kiss. His first kiss had been wasted with a stranger. He didn't remember what he did that caused Hermione so much pain.

"I don't believe you!" she fumed, "you did all that, and you can't remember anything? That's rich. Why didn't you just stay with me instead of getting drunk!"

"Look, I'm really sorry, but-"

"I don't even know why I asked you to the dance in the first place! I liked you and I thought you liked me! But you were too busy kissing some other girl! Just leave me alone!"

People were staring at them, but she didn't care. She launched herself off the table and sprinted towards the doors.

…

She was back in her dormitory and was brushing her original bushy hair. After dinner, she had sat in the Common Room doing her homework. Ron came in but he didn't try to talk to her again. Hermione could feel her face growing hot as people glanced at her at times; obviously wanting to know what was going on. After that, Hermione couldn't concentrate anymore on her homework so she went to the dormitory.

Hermione wasn't really sleepy since she had slept quite a bit the previous night. She grabbed a book that was on her desk beside her and began reading it. It was about Animagi that explained what kinds of classes you would have to take in order to become an Animagi.

A few minutes later, Parvati came in looking extremely happy, but she wiped her smile off her face as soon as she saw Hermione.

"Hey. Are you alright?" said Parvati concernedly.

"Yeah. Just fine." She lied, pretending to read her book.

"Are you and Ron fighting? I heard you screaming at dinner."

Hermione didn't answer. Parvati was one of the nosiest people she had ever known, always in other people's business and gossiping about everything. Maybe that could be used as an advantage…

"Do you know who this certain girl is? She's tall and has white blond hair and she's really skinny-"

"You mean the girl that Ron was dancing with?

"Yeah." said Hermione in an embarrassing tone.

"I think her name is Serenity ByWater. She's a sixth year and in Slytherin, I believe."

"Oh." said Hermione, appearing crestfallen. She didn't know why she asked for this bit of information and suddenly wished she hadn't.

She changed the subject, "so who'd you go with to the dance?"

"Me? I went with Terry Boot, you know, in Ravenclaw. We had fun and we danced the whole night and…" Parvati trailed on and on, but for some reason, Hermione couldn't take in any of it.


	9. DracoNot Malfoy

Chapter 9 – Draco-Not Malfoy

A week and a half passed since the Halloween Dance and the weather outside was getting worse by the day. The chilly wind howled against the trees of the Forbidden Forest and the trees on the Hogwarts grounds had lost all of their leaves by now, giving it a very wintery atmosphere. The temperature was dropping gradually and was getting so cold that Hermione had to wear two layers of clothing under her robes. It was abnormal weather for mid-November.

Hermione still wasn't talking to Ron, and a several times Ginny and Harry had tried to make her talk to him but had failed. To her surprise, Ron wasn't coming to apologize to her anymore and now it seemed that he was mad at her for not forgiving him. Deep down inside she knew she was overreacting to the whole situation, but she couldn't admit it. She hoped that he would come just one more time and she would forgive him, but he didn't.

It was evening when Hermione attended to her Head Girl duties. She was half relieved and half dreading it. She was relieved that Ron wouldn't be there, but dreading it because she would have to spend two hours alone with Draco Malfoy. At this thought, she began walking slower than usual, hoping that her feet would take her in a different direction.

"You're late Granger." drawled Malfoy as Hermione entered Snape's classroom in the dungeons.

"Sorry." said Hermione dismissively, "what are we doing today?"

"Grading pathetic first-year Potions essays. Professor Snape told me to."

"And you couldn't start without me?" said Hermione in an annoying voice.

"Of course not. I need your expertise at this concept of grading."

"Sure you do."

"Now come on, so we can get this done with quickly." said Malfoy in his usual cold voice.

Hermione took a seat next to him, but far away that her hand could barely reach where he was sitting. Malfoy laughed.

"What Granger? Scared of me? But it's a good thing you distanced yourself, I don't want a Mudblood so close to me."

Hermione didn't even flinch at the word. Instead, she stared at him intensely. He stared back. It was like a stare contest, and they stared at each other for so long that her eyes began to water.

"Why do you do that?" said Hermione in a tone that she would normally use with her friends. It was more sympathetic and human.

"Do what?" Malfoy sneered at her.

"Insulting me every second like I'm not worth anything. Trying to curse me with some dangerous spell and attacking me from behind like a madman. And worse of all, calling me a Mudblood. It hurts, you know."

Malfoy seemed taken aback at Hermione's words, but then recovered his poise in an instant, "because I like insulting and hurting you. It's a hobby. And you _are_ a Mudblood; you don't belong here."

Hermione pushed her chair closer to Malfoy deliberately to irritate him.

"What do you think you're doing." He said, looking at her nastily and backing away a little.

"Showing you that I'm not scared." Hermione smirked.

"Just remember what I said before."

"Uh-huh," said Hermione, "so are you going to tell me why you act all tough and cold hearted?"

Malfoy considered her for a moment and said, "Why do you care?"

"Just trying to get to know my partner, that's all. So, tell me. Why don't you just act like yourself around me? It would make things much easier."

Malfoy stared at her in disbelief, "Granger. You're scaring me."

Hermione laughed. She decided that she could finally through Draco Malfoy and see who he really is. After all, everyone has some good inside them. He just needs his to come out.

"First of all, stop calling me Granger. Call me Hermione, and I'll call you Draco. Draco. Hmm…sounds strange." said Hermione.

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Alright. Hermione." He gave in, looking confused and weird to say Hermione's first name.

"Finally. You agree on something."

"Are you sure you haven't drank one of Snape's potions by accident?" said Draco, still gawking at her.

Hermione snorted, "No. So tell me about yourself. Where were you born, when were you born, who do you live with, and things like that."

To her surprise, he told her about himself. It was the strangest conversation Hermione had even had with someone, and she never before dreamed the day that she would be having a civilized conversation with Draco Malfoy. But she knew that this situation had to be more peculiar to Draco since he had never really talked to anyone like that, or so Hermione thought.

She found out that Draco was seventeen years old just like her and was about to turn eighteen on December ninth. He was born in a little village in France, and all his life he had lived in the old Malfoy Mansion with his mother and father. He even told her that they used o have a house elf but he was dismissed. She laughed when he told her about Dobby.

"What?" said Draco, looking puzzled.

"Did you know that Dobby works here in Hogwarts?"

Draco looked stunned. "Really? Does he? Amazing. Mum has to do a lot more work around the house now that the house elf is gone. She's starting to get old. Now tell me about your life."

She told him she was born in England and how she was extremely smart in Muggle school and one day when she was eleven, she got a letter from Hogwarts that wanted her as a student. Her parents were so happy, and then she read all of the course books and memorized them by heart because she was scared she wouldn't know enough as the other students.

"Actually," Draco said, "You knew way more than me, or anyone in our year. But I can't believe you memorized your books. _Who does that?"_

Hermione looked down, embarrassed, "I don't know, I guess it's just a habit."

"A really bad one, I might add." said Draco, and smiled. This was the first smile she had ever seen on his face. She wanted to ask him another question, but decided it was too personal, and didn't ask it. Instead, she looked down at the pile of papers on the desk and gasped.

"Oh my! We haven't even started grading these!" And with that, they got to their work way more civilizing than before.

…

After a couple of hours, she left the dungeons with a smile on her face. She felt like she had accomplished something big. She had opened u to an enemy, and he had opened up to her. Hermione knew that there was some good inside Draco, and after tonight, she confirmed that she was right. Maybe by talking to our adversaries and trying to understand how they feel was the first step to uniting as a whole. Maybe this is what would diminish future evils like Death Eaters and Voldemort.

"Buterbeer." She muttered to the Fat Lady and the door opened. She yawned. It was really late, and the Common Room was empty except for one person.

"Where were you?" said Ron in a concerned voice.

"Prefect duties." said Hermione shortly.

"This late?"

"Yes. So what do you want?"

"For you to forgive me." He said, and to her astonishment, he got down on his knees and put his hands together and begged, "Please, please, please, please, please forgive me! What else do I have to do to make you-"

"Ron!" interrupted Hermione. She held out her hand to him and pulled him, "what in the blazes are you doing?"

"Begging. Did it work?" said Ron innocently.

"Yes. I forgive you. And I'm sorry I stopped talking to you. You didn't know what you were doing that night. You were drunk after all."

"It's okay, but I shouldn't have drank in the first place. Friends?" said Ron, holding out his hand.

"Of course! Oh Ronnie!" she flung herself at him in a tight embrace and let go after a long time.

"So what now?" said Ron, looking around the dim room.

"We talk. You won't believe what just happened in the Dungeons…" Hermione was fully awake now and told him about Draco.

For some reason, they were sitting on the floor closely together. It was a good feeling.

"Draco? _You're calling him Draco_?" said Ron, looking utterly baffled

"Well, yes, he'll call me Hermione from now on." Said Hermione.

"I don't know…" said Ron doubtfully, "you should still be careful around him. He did try to hex you after all, don't you remember?"

"Yeah."

They caught up on talking about their classes and Ron told Hermione how Quidditch was going and said that Harry was acting weird, well, more weird than usual. He told her that one day he had deliberately thrown the Beater at Kirke out of frustration that he knocked out most of his teeth. Hermione frowned. As far as she knew, Harry had been normal around her.

Then the conversation turned more personal.

"Hermione, can I ask you a question?" said Ron nervously.

"Hmm…what is it?"

"Did you mean it when you said a week back that you liked me?"

"Yeah. I meant it."

"I should've asked you weeks before the dance, but I guess I was too scared. I thought it would be weird to ask a friend to the dance as a date. But you've probably figured out that I like you from Harry and Ginny, I reckon."

"Yeah, I have, actually. They said you worship me."

Ron laughed, "I guess you could say that."

"I've know that you've liked me for a while, or ever since Viktor came here."

"Oh." said Ron, looking crestfallen.

"But don't worry! I never liked him that much, and we're just friends. But you should have seen your face at the Yule Ball. It was hilarious. You were so jealous, and from then on I knew you liked me."

Ron raised his eyebrows, "I was furious but I never realized I liked you then."

"Yeah. I thought I would just let you figure it out."

"So you don't like Krum anymore?"

"No, and remember that night when I was writing a letter? Well, it wasn't to him. It was to Lupin."

"Why where you writing to Lupin?" he said curiously.

"Because… of a horrible dream I had."

"What was in the dream?"

Hermione sighed, "I'm not sure if it was a dream, but I hope it was… Voldemort killed you in it."

Ron stared at her. "It was just a dream. You don't have visions like Harry, Hermione. Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to me."

"I hope not." said Hermione, and laid her hand on his broad shoulders without realizing it. She closed her eyes. She wanted to stay like this forever, next to Ron.

"What's going to happen to us, Ron."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with Voldemort and everything. How's Harry ever going to kill him? It's almost impossible."

"But it's still possible. We have to stay strong for him. We have to help him."

"I'll die helping him if I have to."

"Me too. And don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

She melted. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. She felt like kissing him so badly…

"Nothing's going to happen to me. I can take care of myself, and I'll have you, of course."

Ron smiled at her, "So how does it feel to kiss someone?"

"Exhilarating, but you should know. You did kiss that Slytherin girl after all." She smirked.

"I don't even remember it. Maybe you could refresh my memory?"

Hermione put her delicate hand on the side of his face and closed in on him…She shut her eyes and slowly, their soft lips met. Hermione's heart was thudding, feeling like she had transcended to heaven…


	10. The Stranger

Chapter 10 – The Stranger

Hermione was strolling down the off beaten path of the Forbidden Forest once again. The ground was damp and moist. She deeply inhaled the fresh air that surrounded her.

In a few minutes, she was in the middle of a group of trees clumped thickly together that if she even moved an inch, a tree branch would scrape her arms. In front of her was a massive boulder the size of a small hill; but before she could examine it closely, something else caught her attention. Just like before, something was materializing in front of her feet and slowly, the brown leaves disappeared and a wide hole appeared. It seemed to be leading downwards, and as Hermione lowered herself to look inside, it slanted forward after a few feet under.

Suddenly, everything started to drift away. Hermione wanted it to stop doing this, but she couldn't do anything. Before she knew it, she was back in her dormitory with her eyes open. What the hell was that about? She got up from her bed, grabbed her diary, and started to write in it:

_December 4,_

_I just had the strangest dream that I was in the Forbidden Forest and I was looking down at a sort of passageway…but then the dream faded away. I wonder what it meant…_

_Besides that weird dream, life couldn't be any better right now. I've made up with Ron and almost every single evening, we go for a walk in the grounds, no matter how cold it is, and we hold hands and talk. He really makes me feel special. One thing I regret is the schoolwork that I haven't been taking seriously. Of course, I do my homework and study for my tests, but I haven't been preparing for N.E.W.T's or anything. Another thing I miss is all the arguing that we used to do. We don't bicker anymore, but I guess that's good in one way so we don't bother Harry._

_Harry…there's definitely something wrong with him. Yesterday, he, Ron, and I were on the grounds throwing snowballs at each other. For a minute, Ron and I ganged up on him with loads of snowballs and he went ballistic and threw a huge snowball right in my face and the snow got in my eyes and everything. I was so mad that I was about to strike him down again, but Ron stopped me. He thought that something changed Harry's behavior at certain times when he got ticked and he would get really angry. At the time I didn't care what took over him, as long as my eyes were okay, which they were. I guess Ron and I will just have to watch over him so he doesn't do something stupid like last year or the year before or…you get the picture._

_I gotta go now. We're going to Hogsmeade today._

She put down her quill, took out her wand locked the diary. Then she put it in the drawer of her desk and locked that as well. _Ha, I'll like to see Harry get into that._

After taking a shower, Hermione went to breakfast and spotted Ron and Harry. She took a seat next to Ron and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good morning!" exclaimed Hermione and went right to her breakfast. The brilliant concept of her happiness what that for the first time she didn't have a book in her hand while she was eating.

"You're making me sick." said Harry, making a face like he was about to throw up.

"You were the one that wanted us together, so don't complain." said Ron.

"And somehow I regret that." said Harry sarcastically.

"I'm so happy we're going to Hogsmeade together today!" said Hermione ecstatically.

"You're way too chirpy for me right now." said Harry.

"I'm just happy. Is that against the law?"

"No." said Ron.

"And anyways, we haven't been together at all this year. We're usually in twos, and never in threes like before."

"And who's fault is that?" said Harry, half laughing.

"Even before that. Whatever happened to the Golden Trio?"

"Golden?" said Ron, chuckling.

"That's what Snape called us last year, and I think the name's pretty accurate."

"Uh-huh." said Harry, nodding his head.

"Cheer up!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Shut up. Seriously."

"Oh alright."

After that, Ron and Harry started to talk about Quidditch which pretty much bored Hermione. She ate her toast in silence and stared out the window past Harry's face. Owls were fluttering freely and were making their way inside the castle. There was a blanket of snow on the ground and some of it covered the trees surrounding the castle.

Something or someone was moving and appearing near one of the trees. It was a dark figure in black-hooded robes…

"Look!" she gasped, grabbing Ron's arm, and pointed to the window. Harry turned his head as well.

"What?" said Ron, looking confused.

"That guy…he was just there…" But now he was gone. Who was he? And why was he playing games with her?

"What guy?" asked Ron impatiently.

"Is this about that guy at the dance?" said Harry.

"Yes."

"What guy?" said Ron desperately. Hermione filled him in shortly, and then took his hand and pulled herself up like a machine.

"Where are we going?"

"Come on…I bet he's still there…we have to find out who he is…Let's go, Harry."

"But I'm not done eating!" Ron complained, but after seeing the look on Hermione's face, he said, "Oh alright, let's go."

They dotted out the doors and went outside. White sheets of snow were on the Hogwarts grounds that shined as bright as a bulb. It was freezing but beautiful outside, and all it needed were Christmas lights, and the castle would look illuminating.

They searched practically everywhere but there was no sign of him. Hermione let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Maybe he Apparated." Ron suggested.

Hermione glared at him ludicrously.

"Oh right. Sorry."

"Where else could he be? Maybe he went in the Forbidden Forest." said Harry, gazing at the forest far away.

"Then we can't look for him in there, we'll just get in trouble. Come on, let's go inside." said Hermione, talking a last look around her.

As they were walking back inside, Hermione said, "You reckon we should tell someone about him?"

"What are we supposed to say, that a person in a black hood is stalking me? That hardly sounds believable." said Ron.

"What if it's a Death Eater?" said Hermione uneasily.

"Why would a Death Eater stalk you? Wouldn't he go after Harry?"

"Yeah, she's right." said Harry, hugging himself tightly to get rid of the cold, "maybe he just likes you a lot and he's following you."

"That sounds a bit far fetched." said Hermione. If this person liked her, wouldn't he just tell her? Why would he be stalking her? "Couldn't they just tell me that they like me? I think we should tell one of the teachers."

"I don't think we should either," said Harry, "he hasn't done anything to you."

"Yet." said Hermione

"No. Let's just watch our backs."

They went back inside the castle and as Harry and Ron made for the Great Hall, Hermione changed routes.

"Where are you going?" said Ron, turning around to look at her.

"Library. Be back in half an hour."

"Library? It's Sunday!" said Ron, flabbergasted.

"I have to look something up. Come if you must."

"No thanks. We'll just play Quidditch or something."

"In this weather?"

"We have to practice." said Harry distractedly.

_Can't boys think about anything else but sports?_ They separated as Hermione walked to the library.

Since they were going to be in Hogsmeade wild and unprotected, it would be a good idea to protect themselves so she wouldn't have to tell one of the teachers about this "mystery" person. About two years ago, she had read about a Protection Potion in one of the advanced books of the library. Maybe if they drank that today, they could be safe in Hogsmeade.

Hermione entered the library. It was as desolate as a desert except for Madam Pince, who was sleeping heavily on her desk. She approached the shelves in the back area and scanned them until she found _A-Z: Potions _and rummaged through the book. Halfway, she found the potion. She read:

_The Protection Potion, sometimes known_

_As the Barrier Potion, is used to protect _

_Oneself from any human-being for a total_

_Of six hours. It casts a shield on the selected_

_Person and burns any skin that attempts_

_Physical contact or blocks magical spells _

_With the only exception of the Killing Curse. _

_The ingredients needed:_

_3 laurel leaves_

_5 lavender strings_

_10 cm. apple skin_

_½ cup holy water_

_½ cup water_

_1 teaspoon asafetida_

Hermione thought that was all she needed and sighed with relief until she turned the page and saw that half the next page was filled with more ingredients and the instructions to make the potion.

_Great. There goes my morning._

…

It took a little more than two hours to make the potion, but the good part about it was that Hermione didn't have to let it rest for a certain amount of time. Half of that time had taken up from getting the ingredients.

Hermione was still in the back of the library and now there was a goblet of bubbling orange liquid in her hand. She closed her nose and gulped a third of it. The potion tasted awfully like raw eggs and liver. She coughed roughly and craved for water. She examined herself. Nothing was different, at least not physically. It had to have worked because she had done everything right. With the goblet hidden under the back of her hand, she went back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"What's that?" said Harry, eyeing the goblet suspiciously, as Hermione made her way in the room.

"Protection Potion." she whispered.

"What's it for?" said Ron.

"For protection, you dolt. And don't touch me, at least not for the next six hours."

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"What?!"

"It's the only way I can stay protected. Here, I reckon you two should drink it too. Just make sure you don't touch my hand."

"What'll happen if we do?" said Harry in apprehension as he reached for the potion.

"You'll get burnt."

"Well. No pressure there." He snorted, and drank half of it, making a horribly twisted face, "what did you put in this?"

"A lot of rubbish. Ron, you next." But Ron looked at Harry's face and said, "No thanks. I'll pass."

"Come on Ron!" said Hermione. Ron hesitantly took the goblet from Harry and drank it.

…

It was time to go to Hogsmeade. Hermione, Ron, and Harry walked past the front gate and went into the High Street of Hogsmeade, filled with Hogwarts students bustling up and down the street and hurrying into the ships for a warmer atmosphere. Some of the shops and restaurants were decorated with red-and-green Christmas lights and when they approached the Three Broomsticks, it had an immensely colossal snowman grinning and bouncing up and down. They went inside and found a bigger crowd inside the pub than all of the people outside in Hogsmeade combined.

They got three Butterbeers from a cheerful Madam Rosmerta and found seats near one of the windows.

"So why exactly didn't you tell me about this mystery person?" You told Harry."

_That's a really childish thing to say_, she thought, but she responded anyway, "I forgot, and I told Harry awhile ago, when we weren't talking."

"Oh," said Ron, taking another sip of his butterbeer, "Of course."

"Where's Luna?" asked Hermione, looking around the pub. She spotted Draco sitting on the other side of the room with a gloomy black-haired girl. She waved and he waved back.

"I dunno, but-" Harry cut short and followed Hermione's gaze. "Tell me I'm dreaming." He said, looking absolutely dazed.

Ron cackled.

"Why?" questioned Hermione.

"Because I just saw you wave to Malfoy."

"Oh, then I'm sorry to say that you're not dreaming."

"WHAT?" bellowed Harry, causing his Butterbeer to splash all over his robes.

In the next few minutes, she told him about her approach to Draco and they were now somewhat "friends", believe it or not.

"You have lost your mind." said Harry, staring at her incredulously, with his robes still wet, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, I have to agree on that one." Ron nodded his head in agreement.

"Oh, please. He's not that bad, you know. You should give him a chance."

"Hermione, the day I give Malfoy a chance will be the day Snape dances around naked in front of the whole school."

They left the Three Broomsticks together and walked quickly down the street, freezing in their robes. Hermione had an urge to find shelter next to Ron's body, but she remembered the potion and that prevented her from any physical contact.

Next, they stepped in Honeydukes. Just like the Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes was swarming with students buying craving Chocolate Frogs or Christmas candy canes.

Suddenly, a chill ran up Hermione's spine and she shivered. It was the weirdest feeling she'd even gotten and the feeling told her that someone was watching her. Slowly, she pivoted and observed the store. Then she looked out the window and saw the dark figure staring at her from far away.

Instantly, she grabbed Ron's hand.

"AAAAHHHH!!!!" They both screamed at the top of their lungs. Hermione felt like a thousand burning knives had pierced through her skin and it felt like her hand had caught on fire. The pain was unbearable. It gradually ended and she looked at her hand. The color had changed to a dark brown and a wisp of smoke was rising from it. She looked over to Ron's hand, which was in the same condition. The whole shop was staring at them like they were crazy, and not a sound came within it.

"What did you do that for?" demanded Ron furiously, moving his hand in a circular motion. An old witch in a pointed green hat was coming their way.

"What seems to be the problem, my dears-" she stopped with a halt, her eyes resting on Ron's hand, "Oh my goodness! How did that happen?"

"It's alright." Hermione spoke quickly before Ron opened his mouth to say something stupid, "we'll take care of it." The three of them scrambled out of the shop without another word.

"What the hell was that?" said Harry, in total bewilderment.

"The spell worked obviously." said Ron, still glaring viciously at Hermione.

"I'm sorry! But I saw him again. Over there-" she pointed to the right of them, which was where the Hog's Head was. It was the only place where there wasn't a crowd of people around it, and the only person Hermione could see was a burly looking man in his thirties wearing a long yellow scarf.

"Hermione, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Harry looked at her worryingly.

"I am NOT having hallucinations," She retorted, "I swear he was there. He's just playing games."

"Well, then, first let's get this stuff off-" Ron made to get his wand out of his robes, but Hermione snapped, "NO! You can't do any magic on yourself. It'll probably just backfire and kill us."

"Great. Just great." said Ron sarcastically.

"Let's get away from here first." said Hermione, scattering away from the main street and sitting down on one of the benches far away from the Hog's Head.

"Just sit here for a few minutes, and you'll see him, but don't stare. Just pretend we're talking or something. And don't touch me."

"Ha! Like I wanna feel that again." said Ron, caressing his hand.

A couple of minutes passed. Hermione sent occasional glances across to the Hog's Head and to the street where Hogwarts students were walking. Hermione waved to Neville, Ginny, Parvati, and Dean in that time. She thought he had left, but then Harry quietly spoke, "I see him."

The three of them followed his gaze. Even though the figure disappeared in a flash, all three had seen him.

"I think we should get out of here." suggested Harry nervously.

They all got up and walked away. Ron said, "You're right, Hermione. We should tell someone."

"Who? Dumbledore?" said Hermione.

"No, that's high profile. Let's tell McGonagall." said Harry.

"Alright." The three of them walked normally so the person wouldn't suspect anything. Hermione lowered her head and gazed at her hand. Little bits of brown material like thick dust particles were peeling off of her skin. It didn't really hurt, but there was still mild pain in her bones.

She was now scared. Obviously, this person wasn't just trying to seduce her and she ruled out the possibility of him being a student. She was positive that it was a Death Eater and she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. She had been lucky so far since she had been with Ron and Harry.

"Where could she be?" said Ron quizzically.

"Perhaps the Three Broomsticks?" suggested Hermione, and once again, they went inside the restaurant and scanned it. They found McGonagall talking sternly to Tonks and Professor Sprout.

"Professor McGonagall, can we talk to you?" said Hermione after they reached them.

Professor McGonagall peered at her seriously over her glasses, "Yes, Ms.Granger?" Professor Sprout and Tonks were observing them curiously.

"Well…erm…someone's following us-"

"No, actually, someone's following _her_." interrupted Ron.

"Yes," Hermione continued, "And I've seen him or her a several times, but I don't know who they are."

The three teachers looked at each other with worried expressions.

"And we thought it might be a Death Eater." Harry added.

Professor McGonagall looked at each of them in turn and then finally said, "Very well, Ms.Granger, I will alert the other teachers to search Hogsmeade. However, you should be escorted back to Hogwarts right now."

"I'll take them." said Tonks, jumping to the opportunity.

"Then we must go also." said Professor McGonagall abruptly to Professor Sprout, "and be careful."

They left the Three Broomsticks and walked cautiously back to Hogwarts.

"Where did you see him?" asked Tonks as they were walking.

"I saw him a few times, actually. Once at the Halloween Dance, then outside in the castle grounds this morning and then back there behind the Hog's Head."

"And you didn't-oh my god! What happened to your hand?" exclaimed Tonks, doubling back. She gawked at Ron's hand.

"Protection Potion. Don't ask." said Ron gloomily. He didn't seem to have forgotten about his hand so quickly.

After they entered the castle, Tonks said, "Now, I want you to go straight to your Common Room. No wandering around or going after this mystery person by yourselves. I know you three." She smirked.

They agreed and went to the Common Room. On their way, Hermione saw a small map of England hanging on the wall between two oak portraits. A map…

She almost hit herself. How could she have forgotten?

"Harry…" trailed Hermione.

"What?" he said.

"The Maruader's Map…"

The three of them stopped with a jolt. They looked at each other, and then sprinted across the corridors and hallways as fast as they could until they reached the boy's dormitory. Harry quickly rummaged through his trunk, spilling with books, and pulled out the Marauder's Map. He tapped it with his wand and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The map revealed a distinct outline of Hogwarts and up on the top of the map was Hogsmeade. They looked at it eagerly, especially where the Hog's Head was, but were unsuccessful. He was gone.


	11. The Crystal of Invincibility

Chapter 11 – The Crystal of Invincibility

"Maybe it was a student." whispered Ron, tapping his wand on the fat rat lying on his table, causing it to vanish. They were in Transfiguration and Professor McGonagall had just started a new lesson on Conjuring. First they would be starting with minor objects like rats because Conjuring was advanced magic. As usual, Ron was having trouble with his rat and so was the rest of the class, which caused Professor McGonagall to separate the class into pairs so they could help each other. Hermione had to admit that even she was having trouble with Conjuring, although she had been able to do it once.

"No, it couldn't have been." replied Hermione in a soft voice so no one could hear them, "he was really tall and…muscular, now that I remember it."

Ron glared at her scornfully, "How do you know that."

She rolled her eyes, "Because I danced with him…and his voice sounded awfully familiar…I know I've heard it before. Now shut up and let me concentrate."

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to picture the image of a brown rat in her head…she could almost see the real thing in front of her with its wagging tail and coarse fur…

She raised her wand and yelled, "_Inferorum animas!"_

She opened her eyes. On the table was the exact rat she had visualized in her head. A wave of pride ran through her.

"Excellent Ms.Granger! Another five points to Gryffindor!"

However, other students weren't having as much success as Hermione. Harry, who had paired up with Neville, was causing chaos. First, he gently brandished his wand and said the spell, but nothing happened. Then, out of frustration, he stroke it violently and caused two of the desks near him to topple over sideways, making a racket of noise. One of them fell on Lavender, who screamed in pain. Professor McGonagall at once rushed to Lavender, first casting a spell to resituate the fallen desks, and then kneeled down to help her. With an angry look on her face, she barked, "Mr.Potter! What in the world are you doing? Detention for a deliberate attack on a student!"

"But I didn't-" Harry fumed in protest, but Professor McGonagall cut in, "Not another word! Ms.Granger, watch the class while I take Ms.Brown to the hospital wing."

They both left the room and Hermione could see that Lavender's knee was bleeding heavily. After Professor McGonagall was out of earshot, Harry yelled, "I didn't do it on purpose! It's this stupid spell!"

Parvati was looking daggers at him and the rest of the class was uncertain about the situation, but stared at Harry nevertheless.

"But why did you move your wand like that? You knew it would result in a disaster." said Hermione, hoping that Harry would realize his mistake.

Harry glared at her, and then suddenly, he yelped, "Ow!" He put his hand on his head. Then he sat down with his eyes closed. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, not knowing what to say. But they could both agree on one thing; there was definitely something wrong with Harry.

…

"We should be doing our homework, you know." said Hermione disapprovingly as they walked hand in hand across the Hogwarts grounds. It was late in the evening and Ron had talked her into walking outside even with the foot long essay about Enlargement Potions waiting for her. As usual, it was below freezing outside, and Hermione wished she had a huge mug of hot chocolate with her.

"Who cares about homework?" said Ron.

"Apparently, I do," Hermione pointed out, "and besides, it's freeeeezing." She said, her teeth jittering and her body shivering.

"Then how's this." said Ron, pushing her to him. Hermione laughed, "Much better."

"So, are you coming to the Burrow for Christmas vacation?" asked Ron, as they walked past the shimmering lake surrounded by old beech trees.

"I don't think so. Mum and Dad want me to spend the Christmas with them." Hermione had gotten a letter from Mum demanding her that she spend the holidays at home, which was a good point. For the past three years, she had spent almost all the summer vacations and Christmas holidays at either the Burrow or Grimmauld Place. Hermione felt a bit guilty about not being with her parents enough, but right now she was just too involved and absorbed in the wizarding world, and she had to admit that she wanted to spend the Christmas with Ron more than with her parents. One thing that never left her mind was how lucky she was to even go to Hogwarts. Her mother hadn't exactly been the happiest person in the world when Hermione got a letter from Hogwarts, saying that she had been accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sure, she was happy at first, but as she skimmed through the course books Hermione and her Dad had gotten from Diagon Alley, she turned skeptical and worried about her daughter. They had had a big argument whether they should let her go, and thankfully, her father had been on her side, saying that it was solely her decision. She had to admit that she had gotten much closer to him after that incident.

"What?" said Ron disappointedly, making Hermione come out of her reverie, "You have to come! It won't be fun without you!"

"My parents want me at home this holiday, and I don't blame them. And of course it'll be fun! Harry will be there!"

He laughed, "Just wonderful. That's just what I need, a madman near me in my vacation for two weeks. I'll be lucky if he doesn't curse me."

"He has been acting strange lately, hasn't he?"

"Strange? He's gone crazy."

Hermione frowned at him, "But I can't blame him. He has the toughest life out of anyone. Do you think he's having funny dreams again?"

"Probably," said Ron, ripping out a leaf off the oak tree, "I heard him mumbling in his sleep the other day. I think he said, 'Move Grawp' and then another time I heard him say something like 'I can't open it'".

"Grawp?" said Hermione, surprised, "Why would Grawp be in his dreams?"

"I dunno, but I reckon you should ask him about it. I already did, but he wouldn't tell me anything."

She was definitely going to ask him. "Do you think…"

"What?"

"Do you think Harry can…kill Voldemort?"

Ron flinched.

"That's getting really old, you know. Just call him Voldemort."

"Hush!"

"Voldemort!"

"Oh, alright. Vol-Volde-Voldemort." stuttered Ron, shivering all over but not because of the cold.

"Good boy," she said with a smirk, "so do you think Harry can kill him?"

"I don't know about that, but he has to, or we're all dead."

Thoughts were swimming inside Hermione's head. Harry needed to be trained how to duel perfectly so he would have a good defense when the time came for him to fight Voldemort…but how were they going to do that themselves? Unless…

"I think we should start the DA again." said Hermione abruptly.

Ron stopped with a halt, "What? That's mad. Do you have any idea how much trouble we'd get in?"

"Not if we got Dumbledore's permission first. And we could use the Room of Requirement again, because it was perfect, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but you think Harry will agree to it?" said Ron doubtfully.

"He has to, if he wants to survive." It was the perfect idea, and maybe this time they could get Tonks to supervise it or something.

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't run off to the Department of Mysteries again."

"Yeah…" They started walking again, "when should be start it, though?"

"After Christmas. There's no use starting before it, since we only have a week or so left."

"I guess so…" They strolled in silence for a minute, until Ron said, "So, what do you want for Christmas?"

"Hmmm…you." said Hermione playfully, tickling him in the stomach.

"Hmmm…good choice." He smiled at her, "but no, really, what?"

"Surprise me." She said, gazing mysteriously at him, "and what do you want?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as it isn't another homework planner."

Hermione scowled, "It was magnificent! What did you do with it anyway?"

"Burned it to ashes in the fireplace." said Ron truthfully. Hermione gave him a malicious look, and Ron said. "What? So did Harry. It was the most annoying thing ever."

Hermione made a mental note to toss the charm bracelet (Ron had given it to her last Christmas) in the fire in front of him. She didn't really mind that he hadn't liked the present, but to burn it into ashes wasn't necessary.

"It's freezing!" said Hermione, shaking with the cold. She squeezed Ron's big nose with her hand, "and your nose is red. Red-nosed reindeer."

"Haha." He came closer and kissed her on the lips. A wave of wonderful warmness spread throughout her body and she was no longer cold. Ron's soft lips felt smooth against her own like glossy lip gloss smearing on her lips.

They let go after what seemed an eternity to Hermione. She gasped for breath and said, "Mmm…yummy."

Ron licked his lips in response and said, "Come on, let's go back so you can do that homework."

They turned back to the castle holding hands, and Ron spoke, "You know, walking has become one of my favorite hobbies, after Quidditch of course."

"It should be your first." She said sarcastically.

"You're my first. Well, the first in who's special to me." said Ron, then added as an afterthought, "after myself, of course."

Hermione punched him playfully in the chest, "Ron!"

He laughed, "No, really. You are. You've always been, and I can promise you that you always will be."

"Awww…" she sang, "how sweet! You've always been important to me, ever since first year anyways. Do you remember how rude you were to me then?"

Ron made an apologetic face, "Sorry! But to tell you the truth, I thought you were really annoying." He mimicked his voice like Hermione's, ""of course I've memorized all the course books by heart, I hope that'll be enough.'" He laughed again and Hermione punched him again.

"So what? I didn't know anything about the magic world then, so I read everything that I could lay my hands on. And what about you?"

"What about me?" said Ron.

"You were a bit…stupid. You couldn't even do simple spells and you were from a wizarding family. And I didn't even mention how mean you were. Do you remember that troll incident?"

Ron smirked, "Oh yeah. How could I forget? Didn't I say something to tick you off and you ended up in the bathroom crying?"

"Wow, I can't believe you remember. Do you know, you never apologized for that?"

"What? Yes I did!"

"Not that I can remember."

"Ok then. I'm sorry?"

"Ha."

"Do I have to get on my knees again?"

"Yes. Now." She said in mischief, pointing commandingly to the snowy ground.

"No way!" They both laughed.

"And what about in our third year when you yelled at me when you thought Scabbers died? You were just awful to me..." said Hermione, pretending to make a sad face.

"What about Crookshanks? That mad cat was after Scabbers all along!"

Hermione looked at him, as though she'd been offended, but then picked up some snow and heaved it at Ron. He ran for it and gathered up some snow for himself and threw it across Hermione's direction. She ducked and it missed by inches.

"And you're on the Quidditch team?" She laughed loudly and threw more snow at him.

It took them a few minutes to settle down, and finally, they walked back to the castle.

"Do your realize we were supposedly fighting over Scabbers, who wasn't even a rat?" said Hermione.

"Oh." said Ron, coming into realization, and then snorted.

They went up the spiral staircase leading to the Common Room and faced the Fat Lady who was snoozing.

"Godric Gryffindor." said Hermione, but the Fat Lady laid still.

She repeated herself, louder this time, and the Fat Lady jerked her eyes open, "Sorry." she mumbled and opened the door. The Common Room was still quite full and Hermione saw that it was only eight o' clock. No one seemed to notice them come in because they were all immersed in their homework. They found Harry sitting on a squishing armchair, staring blankly at a piece of parchment in front of him. He looked up and sprang with excitement.

"Finally, you're here!" he said, looking at Hermione, "tell me everything about Enlarging Potions."

"Enlargement Potions," she corrected him, "and how many times do I have to tell you to learn to do your own homework?"

Harry shot a dirty look at her. She opened her bag and took out her own half finished Potions essay and book containing information Enlargement Potions. She threw it to Harry since she already knew all about the potion by heart. Harry muttered a thanks and went back to his essay.

A couple of hours passed and gradually the Common Room emptied one by one until the three of them were left. Hermione realized that they were always the last ones in the room. She had been done her essay an hour ago and now was reading an even bigger book about Animagi than she had up in her dormitory. This was because she was thinking about becoming an Animagi herself. She hadn't told anyone yet, not even Ron, because she wasn't completely sure about the idea. It would be so fascinating to transform completely into an animal and she knew somewhat the feeling of it since she had transfigured into a cat in their second year where she'd drank the Polyjuice Potion. And also, there would be plenty of advantages of being able to transfigure into an animal.

She glanced at the clock hanging on the dim wall across her and saw that it was almost eleven o'clock. She beckoned to Harry and Ron's essays, "Here. I'll fix them."

"Will you?" said Harry, sighing with relief, "Hermione, you're the bestest bestest friend I've ever had and I love you for it-"

"Oh, stop sucking up." said Hermione, and began to read Harry's essay first. Even by Harry's standards, it was horrid. There were grammar mistakes all over and the information in the beginning of the essay was not at all accurate.

"Harry," said Ron, his head lying comfortably on a pillow on the bare floor, "are you gonna tell us about the dreams you've been having?"

Hermione looked over the essay curiously at Harry. He had an annoyed look on his face.

"What dreams?" said Harry, trying to keep an innocent face.

"Oh, don't lie Harry," stated Hermione, putting Harry's essay down for a minute, "Ron told me you were muttering in your sleep."

Harry glared at Ron and snorted, "Should've known you tell her everything."

"That doesn't matter," said Hermione, coming to Ron's rescue, "what matters is you need to tell us what's going on. How else are we supposed to help you?"

He stared at her for a moment and then said, "Oh, fine then. I've had plenty of dreams of the Department of Mysteries, but this time I'm trying to get through that locked door, but I can't get it open. And I had a few other dreams where I was in the Forbidden Forest and I saw Grawp and there was this tunnel thing and I tried to go in it but the dream ended."

Hermione's heart was racing. She had had the same dream a week ago but had dismissed it to be something insignificant. She also had been standing in the Forbidden Forest close to Grawp and a passageway had materialized in front of her, but just like Harry's dream, hers had ended at that precise moment as well. Now that she came to think of it, she had had the same dream on the night of the Halloween dance but had forgotten it because of all the drama that had been going on.

"Harry…" said Hermione, looking at Harry in a mystified expression, "I had the same dream."

There was a definite silence in the circular room. Finally, Harry spoke, "That's impossible."

"It's so strange…why am I having these dreams, though? I don't have anything to do with this whole situation about you and Voldemort and the prophecy…right?"

Neither Ron nor Harry said a thing. The dream situation was too peculiar, even for them.

"What do you think is in that room that I tried to get in?" wondered Harry out loud.

Hermione shrugged but Ron breathed, "The Crystal of Invincibility."

"The what?" said Harry, looking puzzled. Hermione didn't know what he was talking about either. Ron pulled out a heavy book out of his bag and on the front cover was written _The Ministry of Magic: Inside and Out. _He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for and motioned them to come closer. They went near Ron and read the small passage he was pointing at:

_The Crystal of Invincibility is one of the most mysterious objects located in the Department of Mysteries inside the Ministry of Magic. It has the power of life, death, knowledge, love, and a powerful yet dangerous force to this world. This room has been locked ever since the Keeper of the Crystal decided to close it, due to its power, eight hundred years ago. No further research has taken place since 1979 when the famous wizard Albus Dumbledore banned the study of the Crystal of Invincibility due to its exquisite power to punish the evil, become immortal, and mythically resurrect the dead._

"Resurrect the dead?" said Harry, "is that even possible?"

Hermione looked at him, and at once she knew he was thinking about Sirius, "It says 'mythically', so there probably haven't been accounts of people coming back to life, or we would know, and besides, that room has been locked up at all times. I can't believe I've never read about this…it seems almost impossible…"

"Why didn't you tell me about this crystal before?" said Harry, glaring at Ron.

"Because we just started learning about the Department of Mysteries a couple of days ago in Mysteries of the Magical World class. How was I supposed to know before then?" said Ron.

"I guess so…how do I get into that room?" said Harry, gazing fixedly at the passage in the book.

"YOU don't get into that room. It's way too dangerous." stated Hermione.

"Hermz, this could be it!" said Ron excitedly, "that's why Dumbledore locked it up, because he knew that Harry would need that power one day-"

"First of all, Dumbledore didn't lock it up. The Keeper of the Crystal did, whoever that is. And second, didn't you read what it said?" she reread part of the passage, "'it has the power of life, death, knowledge, love and the Keeper locked it because it's dangerous. Do you really think Harry ought to mess around with that?

"No, probably not." Ron agreed.

"I wonder who made it…" She said and turned the page to scan for more information.

"Who knows." said Ron.

"But that brings up my question again. What do I have to do with all of this?"

Harry had a dreamy look on his face. "What if…what if Dumbledore moved this crystal object to the Forbidden Forest? Maybe that's what's in the tunnel…I mean, first I had the dreams at the Department of Mysteries, and now I've been having dreams of the Forbidden Forest…what if it was moved?"

"Well, that would make sense," said Ron, "no one would even try to go near Grawp, and most people don't even know about him…so it would be well protected."

"What if the Death Eaters are after it?" said Harry, "Voldemort probably wants it for immortality."

"Yeah. I think they're trying to lure us there by showing it in our dreams, or at least they are in your dreams…" said Hermione in a mystified voice.

"Then we're not going to fall for it this time. Let's just watch our backs." said Harry.

"Speaking of watching our backs," started Hermione, "I had an idea when Ron and I were walking."

"What?"

"I think we should start the DA again." Hermione blurted out.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Has your memory been erased? Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"But we can get Dumbledore's permission, and I'm sure he will say yes. There's nothing more important now than learning to defend yourself, Harry, even more important than Occlumency."

"Don't remind me." said Harry, nastily."

"So you're agreeing to the idea?" said Ron hopefully.

"I guess so, but I reckon we should start it after Christmas vacation."

"That's what we were thinking." said Hermione, now happy that Harry had agreed.

"Are you done?" said Ron to Hermione, yawning.

"Not yet. Let me finish it so I can get some sleep."

The three sat there in still silence, with the Crystal of Invincibility floating in their heads.

…

Hermione felt groggy the next morning as she at her breakfast. Clearly she hadn't gotten enough sleep because of the homework and because last night, she had tried to trigger a dream in her sleep but it hadn't worked. And now, in this early morning, she was paying the price of her curiosity. Ron and Harry didn't look any better than her, with their droopy eyes falling at times as they ate their breakfast without the slightest enthusiasm.

"I have an idea," said Harry tiredly, "why don't we go visit Hagrid after classes end. He should know something about the-thing, shouldn't he?" Harry changed his last words just in case someone overheard what he was talking about.

"Yeah, I reckon so. What about Quidditch practice, eh?" said Ron, munching on his muffin.

"It won't take long. You up for it, Hermione?"

She nodded. Hermione had been thinking the same thing and she was sure that they would be able to squeeze some information out of Hagrid.

…

Hermione, Ron, and Harry made their way to Hagrid's hut without eating dinner first. Strangely, curiosity had filled their stomachs s much that there wasn't any space left for food.

They reached the hut and Hermione went to knock on the wooden, but Harry held his hand out and opened the unlocked door. They stepped inside. It was as dark as midnight inside that they couldn't see anything. Hermione heard Fang's barking and then Hagrid muttering something along the lines of "the protection shouldn't wear off, Snape said that-"

But at that moment, Harry said, "Lumos!" and the room came into view. The large figure of Hagrid was sitting on a black chair with an old tea kettle clutched in his hand. He stopped talking immediately as he saw them standing in front of him.

"Oh, hello!" said Hagrid, smiling and putting the kettle down on the table, "Nice of yeh ter come. Haven't seen yeh three in a while."

"Who were you talking to, Hagrid?" Hermione asked curiously. Ron and Harry seemed to be wondering the same thing."

"No one!" said Hagrid a little quickly, "come, sit down. So, how's it going, eh? Yeh classes alrigh'?"

The three of them observed him mysteriously as they sat down but didn't ask anymore about who he'd been talking to.

"Classes are fine." said Ron.

"Let's cut to the point," said Harry, looking at Hagrid, "We came to ask you something, Hagrid."

Hagrid raised an eyebrow, "like what?"

"Er-what do you know about the Crystal of Invincibility?" Harry blurted out.

At once, Hagrid's hairy face grew warmer to a color crimson red, "My word! How do yeh three know 'bout that?"

"Never mind how we know," said Hermione quickly, "but it's been moved to the Forbidden Forest, hasn't it? Harry and I've been having dreams about it."

Hagrid looked flabbergasted, "How-but where-whatadaya know 'bout it?"

"That it's really dangerous and it's locked up."

"It's in the Forbidden Forest, isn't it?" said Harry.

"Yeah, it is but-"

"Look Hagrid." Hermione cut in before he had another chance to interrogate them, "weird things have been going on lately. Harry and I are having dreams about it and there's been someone following us for weeks and we think it's a Death Eater-"

"Oh yea, I know all 'bout that."

"Then you should move that crystal object because we reckon the Death Eaters are after it." said Harry.

"Don' yeh worry. No one can get ter it as long as it's under Dumbledore's protection. It's impossible ter get inter cuz its heavily guarded an' only the Keeper of the Crystal-" He stopped with a jolt, horrified at what he had just slipped.

"We already know about that." said Ron.

"Then yeh three betta stop findin' out mo' than yeh oughta know. Could be dangerous."

"But Hagrid-" Hermione said in protest, but Hagrid said, "I'm serious. Just forget 'bout if for now."

But they could never forget about it. Never.


	12. The Madness of Harry Potter

**Chapter 12 **

**The Madness of Harry Potter**

Hermione woke up with a start. She opened her eyes and looked around; the room was three shades darker than usual, but not completely dark, that gave Hermione's face a sort of shadowy appearance. Immense particles of snow fell to the ground in an oblique fashion because the wailing wind was gusting through the air and snow like a leaf blower.

Hermione felt sensational as she sang merrily in the shower, because today was the last day before Christmas vacation began, and what was more was that her parents had agreed that she could go stay with Ron at the Burrow, due to the fact that she would be coming home to them permanently after school ended. Actually, she had begged them into agreeing by sending them about 15 letters and they had to give in.

Another thing that was on her mind was the decision she had made to become an Animagus. After Transfiguration class ended, she planned to talk to McGonagall about it and hopefully she would be the one giving her lessons.

The day passed by as quickly as the violent wind outside. In Arithmancy, Professor Vector gave the class a test on Statistical Numerology which Hermione found very similar to the statistics in the Muggle World, and she knew that she had aced her test. Her second class was Potions in which Snape gave them a new potion to work on called the Babbling Potion. At the end of class, he made a very nervous Neville drink it, causing him to talk and talk unstoppingly. Hermione's next class was Transfiguration and believe it or not, they were still on Conjuring spells. Today was a practical test to see whether they could perform it accurately, and Hermione did successfully, earning Gryffindor a whopping twenty five points. On the other hand, the chair that Ron Conjured ended up with only two legs, resulting in only half marks.

At the end of class, she said to Ron and Harry, "I'll see you later. I have to talk to Professor McGonagall."

"About what?" said Ron, narrowing his eyes.

"I'll tell you later." And without another word, Hermione marched up to Professor McGonagall's desk. She looked up.

"Yes, Ms.Granger?"

"Well…I want to become an Animagus and I was wondering if you could give the proper registration forms."

She looked surprised for a moment, but then said, "Of course."

She rummaged through one of her desk drawers and pulled out a thick roll of light green parchment and handed it to her. "Now I want you to fill that out and hand it to me before today. We can arrange your Animagi lessons after vacation."

"Who will be teaching me?" said Hermione as she took the forms from her.

Professor McGonagall smiled, "I will. And just out of curiosity, why did you choose to become an Animagus?"

"I don't really know…" Hermione said, "I guess it's because I've always been interested in Animagi and there would be loads of advantages after I become one."

Professor McGonagall nodded, "Alright, then I will be seeing you later."

Hermione said goodbye and left the classroom with the forms in her hand. She caught up to Ron and Harry on the third floor.

"What's that?" said Ron, pointing to the parchment.

"Registration forms for becoming an Animagus." She answered.

"You-An Animagus?" said Harry in awe.

"And why become one now?" Ron added.

"Because you have to be and adult, or otherwise the age of 17 to become one." said Hermione. She almost tripped over one of the humungous rocks that Peeves was throwing down from midair.

"But why?" said Ron, ducking as another rock went flying past him.

"Well, there are a lot of advantages to becoming one, and I know I'm smart enough for it-"

Ron snorted loudly, "I think that's the first time I've heard you brag openly like that, Hermione." Harry laughed as well.

"Like it or not, it's true! And you two better stop laughing or I stop doing your homework from now on."

With no surprise, they fell silent.

The rest of the day passed in a flash and before she knew it, she was in the Common Room with a full stomach from dinner and ready to fill out the forms. She opened up the roll of parchment to find small ancient-looking writing spread evenly throughout the parchment and saw that there were three other similar looking ones after it as well.

The first section of the forms asked for simple information like her name, age, date of birth, family, residence, and it was like any normal Muggles form until she reached to the part where it said lineage. She checked Muggle-Born. The second part asked how long she'd been practicing magic and her O.W.L and/or N.E.W.T results in school and she triumphantly wrote all Outstandings. The next section asked what spells, charms, or hexes she knew how to perform, which filled up a full three pages. All kinds of spells were on the form and Hermione checked most of them, but there were some that she had never heard of before. Finally, the last part asked her why she wanted to become an Animagus.

It took her about half an hour to finish it, and when she did, she went to Professor McGonagall's personal office. She found her sitting at her desk, grading essays, and she looked older than ever against the yellow light of torches placed around the room.

"Here you go Professor. I finished them." said Hermione, handing over the papers to her.

"Ah…wonderful. Do you have any questions about the process?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Yes," said Hermione, sitting down on a chair across from her, "how long does it take to become an Animagus?"

"It depends on the level of the person's magical capabilities. You also need plenty of motivation and the hardest thing is to focus when you're transforming. For you, I'd say it will take you about three or four months because of your advanced knowledge in magic." Said Professor McGonagall.

Hermione flushed a color of purple. She thought back to when Sirius had said that it had taken them two years to figure out how to become one…but then again, they were working it out by themselves, so of course it would take longer.

"What if something goes wrong during the transformation?"

"Well, you won't get to transform until the end until I am absolutely positive that you will be able to do it, so there shouldn't be any problems. However, people in the past have had terrible mishaps because they rushed into the transformation."

"What kind of mishaps?"

"Sometimes half of their bodies transformed and other times they transformed fully but didn't know how to transform back, which obviously results to staying an animal forever."

Hermione gulped. She didn't want to stay an animal forever. She wanted to be human.

Professor McGonagall saw Hermione's expression and said, "But don't you worry. I'm ninety percent positive that nothing bad will happen to you."

"Thank you, Professor." she said kindly, and got up from the chair and left the room feeling a bit anxious.

…

It was Saturday morning and she was now at breakfast in the Great Hall with Ron and Harry. With one hand she was drinking her orange juice and in the other hand was the _Daily Prophet_, which she was reading about the inauguration of the new Mistress of Magic, Amelia Bones. _It's about time they got a new Minister_, Hermione thought bitterly. At the same time, Harry was telling Ron about how Luna had tried to kiss him but he had pushed her away, causing her to fall to the ground. When Hermione heard this, she deliberately stayed out of it and didn't say anything because she knew Harry would bite her head off. I mean, what kind of girl would talk to you or even look at you again if you pushed her away when she tried to kiss you?

Hermione decided it was time to change the conversation, so she said, "How are we getting to the Burrow?"

"The train, I think." said Ron, "it'll take us to King's Cross and Mum told me loads of people from the Or-people will be there to be Harry's guards."

"There's nothing new about that." said Harry, rolling his eyes, "You'd think Voldemort would just jump out in the middle of the street in London and curse me in front of Muggles."

"No, but it doesn't hurt to be extra careful." Hermione pointed out.

After she was done her breakfast, she went back to her dormitory to pack up a few of her clothes and books in a medium-sized bag, humming Christmas tunes while doing it. She didn't think she could be any happier than she was now. She was going to spend Christmas with her best friends.

The Hogwarts Express was to leave Hogwarts at exactly eleven o' clock, and Hermione, Ron, and Harry didn't bother to ride on the horseless carriages because of the limited amount of their luggage. The strolled past the Hogwarts grounds and out the entrance doors, with a bouncy Crookshanks following them close behind.

The scarlet steam engine was just waiting for them out the doors and the three went inside and found a compartment with Neville and Ginny sitting across from each other; they were playing Exploding Snap.

Neville muttered a hello as he looked up and saw them. Hermione and Ron sat down next to Ginny and Harry next to Neville. Immediately, Ginny moved across and situated herself next to Harry. Neville, Ginny, and Harry all hooted with laughter.

"Oh, please," said Hermione, rolling her eyes, "We're not contagious, you know." This produced even more laughter.

"Where's Dean?" said Ron, with an unnecessary tone in his voce.

"With his friends," said Ginny casually, "maybe you two should get some air too."

In response, Hermione cuddled up closely to Ron and shot Ginny a wicked smile. Again, they all giggled.

The game of Exploding Snap continued and Hermione sat there staring at Ron and thinking. Even if she didn't want to admit it outside, inside she knew that she liked it when someone picked on her and Ron. It made her feel somewhat special and different from everyone else. The months were passing slowly, but she was getting closer and closer to Ron by each day. She felt like she was attached to him by an invisible string, never being able to go a distance or certain amount of time without thinking of him. Even when she was in Arithmancy or Ancient Runes, she would be thinking about Ron and what he would be doing at that precise moment. When summer started, she was going to miss him so much, and even if she would get to see him at times, it wouldn't be the same as having him in front of her everyday. She wouldn't get to talk to him, or get to stare in his deep eyes, or kiss his succulent lips…without realizing it, she dozed off into a deep slumber…

"Hermione. Hermione." Someone spoke softly in her ear. Hermione opened her eyes. One of her hands was limping across Ron's torso and her head was on his shoulder. She looked around and saw that it was completely dark outside and snow flurries touched the ground softly. She straightened herself out, especially her hair.

"Finally, you're up," said Ginny, observing her curiously, "you're like a sleeping machine. How long did you stay up last night?"

"I dunno…until ten maybe…" she said, brushing her hair with her comb, "what time is it?"

"Quarter until seven," said Harry, checking his watch, "and we're almost there."

She slept the whole way? The last thing she remembered before dozing off was her thinking about Ron and feeling his warm body next to her.

After a few minutes, the Hogwarts Express began to slow down gradually and Hermione gathered up her things in one hand and automatically grabbed Ron's hand without realizing it.

They all stepped out of the train and onto the snowy Platform. Instantly, Hermione spotted Mr. and Mrs.Weasley, Lupin, Moody, Bill, Fred and George, Angelina Johnson, Percy, Kingsley, Mundungus, Mrs.Figg, and a pale-faced witch in her thirties wearing modernized Muggle clothes that Hermione didn't know.

"Bloody hell." said Ron, amazed at the number of people waiting for them.

"Oh, how are you all?" said Mrs.Weasley warmly as she hugged them in turn. When she came to Hermione, she conjured an odd expression on her face but then hugged her anyway.

"Some of you might not know her." started Lupin, looking at the unfamiliar witch, "but this is Emily McRoder. Emily, this is Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry." He said, pointing to each of them and shaking their hand. When she shook hands with Harry, her gaze went up to his forehead.

They walked away from the platform, and Hermione heard Fred whisper to Ron, "You do realize that everyone saw you holding hands, right?"

Hermione blushed deeply, and so did Ron. She obviously hadn't realized it, and now everyone knew they were an 'item', not that there was anything wrong with that. She just thought it would be weird if uncomfortable questions popped up for them.

"How are we getting home, Mum?" asked Ginny.

"Your father borrowed a car from the Ministry, and we're not going home. We'll have to spend the vacation at Grimmauld Place only because Dumbeldore thought it would be better for Harry to stay there, so I just thought we would all stay there as well."

Half the group cast a serious look towards Harry, who stared straight ahead as if a parking lot was the most interesting thing he'd ever laid his eyes upon.

In front of them was a red Jeep with a tire attached on the back, and Hermione suspected it was enlarged in the inside, because even a Jeep couldn't fit up to fifteen people. As she scrambled inside, she saw that it was almost the size of a walk-in closet, and sat between Ron and Harry in the back.

The ride back to Grimmauld Place was a rather talkative one. Fred and George told them about recent inventions for their shops, and then Mr.Weasley conversed rather excitedly about a Muggle computer he had come across and brought home, still trying to learn how to plug it up. When Hermione told him that she could help him turn it on, he looked absolutely delighted.

…

They were back in Grimmauld Place unpacking their bags when Lupin popped his head in the room, "Harry, could you please come in here for a minute?" Harry left the room with Lupin, which left Hermione and Ron alone.

"AH!" Hermione jumped as Ron grabbed her from behind and put his arms around her.

"Did you know that I haven't kissed you even once today?" He said, pulling her about and kissing her passionately on the lips. Hermione broke off shortly.

"I really don't want anyone seeing us kissing." She said, still in his arms.

"Too late." A voice came from the hallway. Hermione cricked her neck towards the door so quickly that she could have broken it. Bill was standing like a guard at the door with his long arms crossed, trying not to laugh at the top of his lungs. She let go of Ron immediately.

"Bill!" yelled Ron as his face turned red.

"You could have at least locked the door," he snorted, "but you keep that up and everyone will be standing her watching you two, especially Mum and Dad."

"What do you want anyway?"

"Mum told me to call you for dinner." said Bill, still not being able to keep a straight face.

"Oh alright, we're coming." said Ron, getting, back to unpacking his robes.

"Great." said Hermione after Bill was out of earshot, "now they're all going to think that we can't keep our hands off each other."

"But we can't." said Ron, smiling mischievously, once again stopping halfway through his packing.

"It's not funny!" she scolded.

"Come on." said Ron, taking her hand, but she instantly moved hers away, "Don't you hold my hand."

He looked hurt, "You are way overreacting. Who cares what they think?"

"I do."

He rolled his eyes, "Fine, then." He stormed off without waiting for her.

They went down the ancient spiral staircase and ended up in the main living room. Lupin was standing across from Harry showing some type of parchment and talking at the same time.

"What's up?" said Ron as they approached them.

"Well, Harry will be the one to inherit this place since he is of age now. I was just trying to make him sign some forms." said Lupin soothingly. Harry however, was looking in the opposite direction with his face distorted with anger.

"Trying?" said Hermione, trying to meet Harry's eyes but failed.

"He won't sign it." explained Lupin, also looking at Harry.

"I don't want this place," barked Harry, then shot a dirty look at Lupin, "why don't you inherit it?"

Lupin ignored Harry's rudeness, "Because I had no exact relation to Sirius; I was only a friend, and I doubt that counts, but you on the other hand are his godson, so you should be the first in line to get it. You can live her when school ends and won't have to go back to your aunt and uncle."

It seemed reasonable to Hermione, but she couldn't blame Harry for getting angry. Every inch and corner of this house would remind him of Sirius, if it didn't already.

"I'll think about it." grumbled Harry. As he said this, a ringing sound filled the room. Lupin went over to the stool placed near the window and picked up a cordless phone. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Why do you have a telephone in here?" said Hermione after Lupin hung up the phone.

"Tonks put it in because she needed it during the summer," he said, "Let's have some dinner. I'm starving."

Hermione agreed to that comment and anxiously entered the dining room. It was like she was standing in a multi-scenic room with people doing all kinds of diverse things. Mrs.Weasley smiled as she poured steaming macaroni soup into checker-decorated bowls, apparently in her own little word, and on her side, Bill filled the glasses with pumpkin juice with an occasional waving back of his hair. Ginny and Angelina set up the table but broke five china dishes along the way, while Fred and George hovered over an enormous steel cooking pot placed on the far side of the table, adding a whopping amount of cayenne pepper. Hermione stirred in the twins' direction with interest.

"What in the world are you making? Hermione peered into the pot. Flame-red liquid bubbled upwards like molten lava, giving off a strong smell of chili and black pepper.

"We're adding another flavor to our Wild Toffee collection. Hot Tamales." said Fred, stirring the liquid with a spatula, "dare to try?"

"Hot Tamales? Isn't that a Muggle sweet?"

"So we borrowed the name," admitted George, "but you can bet this'll be by far spicier. So what do you say?"

"Even I'm not that naive." she laughed and turned to settle down on a chair next to Ron, observing the placed dinner hungrily. An immense bowl of chicken lay in front of her and she could feel the devouring taste in her mouth, and a deep pan of brown rice simmered, while the sweet fragrance of apple pie aroused her nostrils.

"COME ON, ARTHUR!" screeched Mrs.Weasley, glaring up at the ceiling as if her husband was facing her. A second later, Mr.Weasley popped into the dining room looking mildly swell in the face.

"Fred, George!" Mrs.Weasley shouted, making the twins jump, "Would you get that rubbish out of here?! I swear if I see one more of your idiotic inventions, I'll pour them down the sink!"

Fred and George hastily carried cut the bubbling pot into the kitchen, while two more people appeared out of thin air, one being Emily and the other-Professor McGonagall.

Hermione registered a look of surprise. She had never seen her Transfiguration teacher outside of school, let alone at Grimmauld Place. She wore an intense crimson cloak that went past her feet and a dark pointed hat situated upon her head that made her look like a gaunt lady bug.

Professor McGonagall sat down, putting aside her briefcase, and greeted everyone curtly.

The dinner was simply delicious. Ever since she had found out that slave labor made the Hogwarts food in her fourth year, she had never been satisfied with the quality of the school food as much as homemade cooking.

All kinds of conversations were stirring in the mold, but Mr.Weasley's talk about Amelia Bones attracted her the most.

"…the number of laws she's made and repealed in such a short amount of time is remarkable. Just a few days ago she announced that she had called back the Aurors marked for Sirius's search and recruited more of them for the Death Eaters running amuck…"

Several people looked in his direction.

"Where do they think the Death Eaters are, Dad?" said Ron as he ate his chicken.

"The Ministry isn't exactly sure, but they have an idea. You probably didn't hear about this, but a wizard by the name of Wilbert Arnold was killed a month ago not far from here and we know it was the work of Death Eaters, but Fudge was still

in office then and he blocked that story from being published in the _Daily Prophet_."

"Why'd they kill him?" said Hermione.

"Now I can't answer that." replied Mr.Weasley, smiling slightly.

"Why not?" demanded Ginny.

"Order business."

"But we should be allowed in the Order!" Ron protested, gesturing to Hermione and Harry, "we're of age!"

"Yes, however you haven't finished school yet." Said Mrs.Weasley in a stern expression, "We've had this conversation before."

"Too bad little bro." said George.

"Then how about the members of the Order tell famous Harry Potter what the Crystal of Invincibility is." Harry's voice rang out.

Right away, Mrs.Weasley's spoon dropped out of her hand with a clank. Professor McGonagall's eyebrows went as high as they could go, Mr.Weasley roughly coughed out the bits of chicken he'd been chewing, Mad Eye Moody's magical eye went haywire, and even Fred and George looked mildly serious. Lupin was the only one who wasn't shocked, his face relaxed, and he grinned.

"I don't know why you're all so surprised. Clearly you haven't learned that nothing gets past these three." said Lupin.

"I have learned it alright," Professor McGonagall contradicted, surveying Harry, "Mr.Potter, how long have you known about this?"

"Only a week or so. I've seen things in my dream."

"So, can you tell us about it? Like who created it?" said Ron eagerly, but Hermione had her doubts. If they weren't going to tell them about a murder, why would they give information on the Crystal?

Hermione saw the members of the Order glance at each other, and then Professor McGonagall spoke, "Very well, Mr.Weasley. I'll tell you because I reckon you'll find out about it one way or another. The Crystal of Invincibility was made in Hogwarts a thousand years ago by Salazaar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor when they were close friends, because of a prophecy that was made then. It was stated that each generation of witches and wizards would face a Dark wizard or witch that would try to destroy or rule to world, cumulating more power as the generations passed and producing the most powerful wizard the world had ever seen, who could be able to destroy life itself."

"Voldemort." breathed Harry.

Professor McGonagall flinched, "Yes, and that is how the Crystal came into production. Slytherin and Gryffindor hoped that by making this crystal, they would wipe out this evil and let future heirs of Slytherin and Gryfffindor use it as well."

"So that's why Voldemort wants it, because he can use it since he's the heir of Slytherin." said Harry, who had now stopped eating.

"How come they only let heirs of Slytherin and Gryfffindor use it?" said Hermione. Finally, they were getting to the bottom of things.

"There are many theories which none have been proven," was it her, or had Professor McGonagall looked away when she said this? "however, they did have someone hold the Crystal for them so if they died, they could hold it until a new heir came along."

"The Keeper." said Ron and nodded with satisfaction.

"At the times of Gryffindor and Slytherin, the Keeper was the witch who made that prophecy, and her name is not known."

Hermione wondered if she was an ancestor of Trelawney, since she was the one who had made the prophecy about Harry.

"If Voldemort is the heir of Slytherin, then who is the Heir of Gryffindor?" asked Ginny.

Professor McGonagall looked at the others before she answered this, "That is unknown, unfortunately."

No other questions were raised after that. They ate their dinner in wonder. Hermione hoped that the Crystal was well protected, because the last thing they wanted was Voldemort destroying the world with it.

…

Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in the vast backyard three the next morning and played with the snow. Sirius had told her two years ago that the backyard was invisible in the eyes of Muggles, so it was safe if they were in the backyard. There were a group of newly grown trees that were clustered together in the far right corner that had lost all their leaves, and diverse plants were lined up in the back, touching the wooden fence, which didn't have any flowers sprouting out in the cold.

It was snowing very lightly, looking like a picture out of a Hallmark card, but because of the continuous snowfall over the past couple of days, the sheet of snow on the ground had almost reached two feet. Hermione was building a huge snowman by combining large amounts of snow by magic while Ron and Harry were having a highly competitive snowball fight far away.

She felt like a ten year old again, out I her front yard, building a cute little snowman with Maria, a girl she used to go to school with. They were sort of friends and would've turned to best friends if Hermione hadn't gone to Hogwarts. The thought of the Muggle world made her think of her parents and she got a bad feeling in her stomach. She felt horribly guilty for not going home again.

As she was pasting some Conjured black buttons onto the snowman's face, a terrifying scream rang out in the air. Hermione swerved around to see Harry's knees hit the snowy earth. He clutched his scar and screamed. Now alert, Hermione Apparated next to him and shook his shoulders.

"Harry! Harry!" shrieked Hermione, totally frightened by Harry's outburst. What was happening? What if he was dieing?

She turned to a flustered Ron behind her, "Go get help!" Before she even finished the sentence, Ron zoomed as fast as he could across the snow and straight into the house.

She darted her eyes. Harry lowered his body to the ground in pain. _What do I do? What do I do? _

She grabbed Harry's hands tightly and yelled, "Harry!"

A dark feeling jerked her body like a striking blow to her heart. She let go of him in half a second.

"NO!" Harry bellowed and staggered up and stumbled for a moment with one of his legs limping out. Harry stopped for a moment. He looked at her strangely and narrowed his puffy eyes. He trotted back, "You betrayed me! You bastard!" He pointed at her shrilly.

"What are you talking about?" screamed Hermione as loud as Harry. Her heart raced with panic. He was losing it, and so was she. Had he just called her a bastard? She was scared out of her mind. Why were they taking so long to get here?

Suddenly, Harry waved his wand out and pointed it at her and shrieked, "_Crucio!"_


	13. The Worst Christmas Present

Chapter 13 – The Worst Christmas Present

Hermione ducked instantly and the flash of light shot right above her, missing her by mere inches, and struck the fence which burst into pieces. She ascended and pulled out her wand automatically.

"What the hell are you doing!?" She shrieked. Harry opened his mouth again with his wand raised, but she was too quick for him, and bellowed, "_Petrificus Totalus!_" Harry's body locked together, his eyes wide with surprise, and fell to the ground with a thud. Hermione turned around as she heard footsteps closing in on her and saw Ron, Lupin, and Mrs.Weasley running through the heap of snow in her direction. They halted to a stop as they looked down at Harry's still body. Ron uttered a squeal, Lupin looked from Harry to Hermione, and Mrs.Weasley gasped faintly.

Lupin kneeled down to him as Mrs.Weasley yelled, "_What did you do!_"

"I didn't do anything!" She retorted angrily, "He's the one who went mad and attacked me!"

Before Mrs.Weasley had the chance to cry in protest, Lupin muttered a countercurse. On impulse, Hermione backed up a few steps and brushed off the snow from the top of her head.

"Ugh…What happened?" he groaned and slowly came up as if he had just woken up from a coma.

Something came over Hermione like an unknown force. She charged at Harry like a bull. She couldn't hear the shouts in the background or Harry's helpless voice; all she knew was that she was so furious that she wanted to beat Harry.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!!!" She bellowed, pinning him aggressively to the ground. Her fist was about to make contact with his face but all three grabbed her from behind and pulled her up. Hermione struggled against their grasps, but it was no use. Instead, she just shouted some more, "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU JUST DID?"

Mrs.Weasley let go of her once she knew Hermione would keep still, and tried to spread words of calm, but it was no use. Harry glared at Hermione, "I didn't do anything! Are you crazy?"

Anger erupted in Hermione like lava erupting from a volcano. She struck a furious blow, and once again, Harry fell.

Lupin and Mrs.Weasley grasped her a second time, and with deep breaths, Lupin said, "Hermione, calm down! Tell us what happened."

She trembled and a tear trailed down her cheek. She couldn't believe it, "He used the Cruciatus Curse on me!"

Silence spread through the grounds. They all stared at Hermione with bewilderment. Snow fell on the top of their heads, but they barely took notice.

"No I didn't!" snapped Harry, now looking as threatening and angry as Hermione.

"That's absurd! How could Harry possibly-" started Mrs.Weasley, but Lupin cut in, "Molly, let's go inside first before we all freeze to death."

Lupin pulled Harry off the snowy ground and for a moment, he walked in unbalancing footsteps. Lupin glanced at both Hermione and Harry with a worried expression, Ron looked at her oddly as if he was bursting to say something but stayed quietly nonetheless, but Mrs.Weasley on the other hand, glared at her coldly. Hermione averted all of their eyes.

They walked into the kitchen quietly, and as Mrs.Weasley prepared some hot chocolate, the others took a seat at the table. Hermione hugged herself to get rid of the cold, and as her teeth jittered, she wished Mrs.Weasley would hurry up with the hot chocolate. After about half a minute, Ginny hurried into the kitchen with a concerned look on her face.

"What happened? I heard Harry screaming!" she said, taking a seat next to Lupin. Mrs.Weasley brought hot mugs of hot chocolate to the table and Hermione seized one immediately. She drank it with deep satisfaction.

"So Hermione, tell us."

She started with telling them about Harry and Ron's snowball fight and how, out of nowhere, Harry started screaming. He fell to the floor in pair, and Hermione tried to get him to explain, but the next second, he got up and yelled about how she had betrayed him and then he had used the Cruciatus Curse on her. Hermione, however, didn't mention the negative feeling she'd gotten when she had touched Harry's hands. It just hadn't felt right…it was a dark feeling…it was an evil feeling…

"Well, now it's your turn Harry." said Lupin.

Harry sighed and began, "Just after the snowball fight, my scar started to hurt so badly. Actually, I should say that it ripped open. Then I got these hot flashes, no, burns, in my head, and felt like fire was burning my whole body…and then…I don't remember." His voice trailed off and his face filled with confusion.

Hermione knew that Harry wasn't lying…but still, he had attacked her…of all the people to attack her…

"Harry, can I see your wand for a moment?" said Lupin. Harry held it out nervously and Lupin took it.

"_Priori Incantatem_!" He articulated, and a cloudy image hovered over Harry's wand in the air. In it, Harry's image held out his wand and shrieked "Crucio!" The jet of bright light struck at Hermione's image, but she ducked. Harry's face was inscrutable as he watched the scene in midair. Ginny clapped her mouth in horror, and Mrs.Weasley's face turned beet red.

"I'm…I'm…er…sorry, Hermione." Harry stuttered, looking puzzled, "but it's impossible…how could I do that without knowing it? And I can't even remember it…"

"Maybe you were possessed." suggested Ginny.

"I don't think that's it-" Lupin started to say, but suddenly, the phone from the living room rang. He got up to get it.

"I agree with Remus," said Mrs.Weasley in a tense voice, "I think Voldemort must have channeled his anger to you, Harry."

Harry thought for a moment, "He's done that before."

"But you didn't start freaking out before!" Hermione contradicted.

"At least the curse didn't hit you, thank god." said Ron, looking at Hermione.

"Then who-" Hermione was about to mention what Harry had yelled outside when Lupin came in "Hermione, you have a phone call."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "For me? Who is it?"

"Your father." said Lupin.

Hermione made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room. She anxiously picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hermione?" came her father's scratchy voice. Someone was speaking in the background and she suspected it was her Mum.

"Dad?"

"Honey, how are you?" said Dad.

"Uh…fine, how did you get this number?" _Yeah, like she was going to tell him how she was._

"Mrs.Weasley gave it to me a few months ago. Hermione, we need you to come home today."

Hermione almost dropped the phone in surprise, "Why?"

"Something's come up…we need to tell you something, and I would rather have you here this vacation." He sounded rather flustered, not like himself at all. Was there pain in those words?

"Can't you just tell me on the phone?" said Hermione. She had no intention of leaving this place when one of her best friends was going insane.

"No…it's rather serious."

Something hit Hermione's heart as powerful as a gunshot, "Is everyone alright? Is it Mum?" she said with panic.

"We're fine…Mr.Lupin said he could drop you off this afternoon. I'll see you then, okay honey?"

"Um…okay." They said goodbye and she hung up the phone, both apprehensive and disappointed. Hermione didn't want to leave Grimmauld Place, and she also didn't want to hear what her parents had to say, because from the tone of her father's voice, it was nothing good. Did her father have cancer? Did her mother have cancer? Had someone died in the family? Had they been robbed? Had they lost their jobs?

Thoughts swam inside her head as she entered the kitchen, "When are we leaving?" she asked Lupin.

"Two o' clock, I guess."

"Alright then, I'll go start packing." said Hermione and turned around to leave.

"Packing? What?" said Ron, running after her. He caught up with her midway into the living room, "Where are you going?"

"Dad wants me to come home, says it's important. I'm sorry, Ron…I don't want to leave, but…"

Disappointment was all over Ron's face, making him look like a little lost puppy, "But you won't be here for Christmas."

"I know…" she said heavily, and hugged him, "we'll be together at Hogwarts…I'm just worried about what Mum and Dad have to tell me."

"It'll be alright, don't worry." said Ron, still in her arms.

She let go. "Watch Harry. Don't let him out of your sight, not even for a second." said Hermione seriously.

"Am I supposed to follow him into the bathroom?" said Ron, smirking.

"You know what I mean!" said Hermione, and kissed him.

"For heaven's sake, get a room!" yelled Ginny from the kitchen.

…

Hermione clutched onto her bag with one hand and held her wand loosely in the other, just in case Harry decided to attack her; she went to the entrance door and the rest followed her to say goodbye.

She hugged them one by one. When she came to Harry, she spoke in his ear, "Be careful, and don't do anything stupid." Harry smiled at her, his green eyes twinkling. As she embraced Ron, she said, "Remember what I said."

Hermione and Lupin stepped outside into the cold atmosphere. A sheet of clouds covered the faint sky that moved faster than usual, and the houses that surrounded Number Twelve Grimmauld Place appeared deader than before, if that was even possible. Not a living soul except for them was present, which was odd, since it was early morning. The houses were in rotten condition; rusted paint was chipped off many of the houses and many of the windows were shattered. There was a pungent smell of rotten garlic in the air that clogged her nostrils.

"Are we Apparating?" asked Hermione as she put her wand in her jeans pocket, leaving it to stick out. Because she was going home, she had changed into a fluffy pink sweater and jeans with high-top boots.

"No, it's too dangerous, and plus, you're a beginner so you could get lost." said Lupin. Hermione highly doubted this, because she was such a good Apparator that she could have Apparated to Australia successfully, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone.

Lupin glanced from left to right and then flung out his wand arm. Instantly, a violent purple triple-decker bus zoomed out of nowhere in front of them. The door to the Knight Bus burst open and a pimply teenager appeared, automatically saying, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, where you-"

"We know, thank you," said Lupin courteously, "You go first, Hermione."

Hermione stepped into the bus and felt sensational warmth spread throughout her body; the bus was unusually warm. After Lupin gave some silver to Stan, they found seats in the second deck of the bus, which was filled with mismatched chairs next to the dusty windows. Hermione and Lupin took seats in the back. Suddenly, the bus blasted off past Grimmauld Place and down the street. Hermione fell forward from the force and groaned as she rose from the floor. _Great, here we go again._

She looked outside and all she could see was a blur. Hermione held on to the seat tightly and turned to face Lupin, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, Hermione?" said Lupin, attempting to glue himself to the seat with his wand, and a second later, he succeeded. He pointed the wand at Hermione and a yellow spark hit her. She stopped struggling because her whole body was no longer moving but stuck to the seat with an invisible force.

"Thanks," said Hermione, relaxing her arms, "I know why Harry went mad this morning, but lately he's been acting strange. He gets mad over the littlest things. Is Voldemort transferring his feelings then too? Because technically, it's Harry's anger, not Voldemort's, which makes him act violent."

"He didn't tell you?" said Lupin.

"No." said Hermione stupidly. So Harry was keeping another secret from them. She had the instant urge to give him another punch.

"We found out that Harry shares the same dreams with Voldemort because of their recent strong connection and the connection formed when Voldemort transferred some of his powers into Harry when he was a baby. This connection became stronger when Voldemort used Harry's blood in his potion to bring him back to power. Therefore, they see the same things, although we think that Voldemort started having these dreams or visions about the Forbidden Forest first. The more of these dreams Harry has, the more feelings Voldemort transfers into Harry's mind. I think that Voldemort's doing this deliberately, but we haven't yet figured out why."

"How do you know about Harry's dreams?"

"From Hagrid." said Lupin simply, "And he told us at dinner a few days ago, remember?"

"Then you must know that I'm having these dreams too." she said.

"Yes, and I don't know why you're having these dreams. Maybe you also have a connection with Harry."

From how Harry had been acting these days, she wasn't so sure if she wanted a connection with him.

"If Voldemort can pour his feelings into Harry, then shouldn't that work in vice versa?" said Hermione.

"It should, but it would be difficult since Voldemort is a much more powerful wizard and I doubt Harry could do much by making him feel happy."

Everything was adding up, at least about Harry. He was getting more and more aggressive by the day, and today, his anger had reached the top level, which had caused him to perform the Cruciatus Curse. What would he do the next time?

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that Harry's going to turn evil?" said Hermione, dreading the answer.

"That's what we're afraid of, and if Harry gives in, who knows what will happen."

"And what about me? I haven't been acting insane even though I've had those dreams." But she wasn't so sure of that.

"As to that, I have no idea."

At that moment, the Knight Bus stopped with a halt on Red Oak Drive in front of Hermione's house. Lupin took the spell off of Hermione and then turned to do the same to himself, giving them the ability to move again, and they got out of the Knight Bus. The door slammed shut and the bus took off ferociously and disappeared into thin air.

Hermione was home. She had to admit that it was nice to take foot into as street where it wasn't filled up with crooked, wretched, and broken-glass houses. The appearance of almost heaven was striking with the soft snow on the leafless tree branches and sheets of snow covered the grass, smooth and untouched. Even the wind in this area seemed to have cooperated into being less howling and destructive.

She turned around to look at her own house, which now appeared whiter than before because of the snow. The Christmas lights weren't on because it was the afternoon, but they covered the whole house, and on the lawn there were inflated snowmen, deer, and Santa Clauses. Both of her parents' cars were in the three car garage, with two of the doors open. She noticed that there were dozens of boxes next to her mum's car, closed up and taped, and Hermione wondered what that was all about. Was that the news? Were they moving and getting a bigger house?

_Like we actually need to. _There were five bedrooms and three bathrooms in the house, a basement with a kitchen, a living room, and three sitting rooms. They had all the space they needed. She had always been one of the luckier ones, having dentists as parents.

"Are you coming in?" asked Hermione, looking at Lupin.

"No, I think I'd better be off. Call the house if you need us, alright?"

"All right. Merry Christmas." She hugged him and then with a pop, he evaporated into the air.

She knocked on the front door, which was decorated with a huge wreath with red ribbons in it. The door opened and in front of her was her mother. She took Hermione in her arms and said, "How are you dear?"

Her Mum let go of her. She was dressed in a red cashmere sweater and a formal black skirt with a pearl necklace clinging to her neck. Her face looked terribly gaunt, as if she'd been crying for hours. Her mother had always been a gorgeous woman with diamond shaped green eyes and full pouting lips, along with her straight dyed-dirty blonde hair (Hermione had gotten her curly hair from her father), but right now she wasn't looking so good.

Hermione stepped inside the house and put her bag down, "Confused," she answered her Mum's question, "Where's Dad?"

"In the office," she said, taking her into the living room, "Come, and sit down. Let me get you something to eat. And where's Crookshanks?"

Hermione sat down on the comfy black leather couch, "Ron's going to bring her, and I'm not hungry. I'll go put my things in my room." She rose from the sofa, went up the curved marble staircase, and walked through the hallway. She stopped to the second door to her right and opened it.

Everything was the same and untouched. Her full size bed lay in the middle, covered with blue sheets and comfy pillows placed on top. Almost everything was normal like any other teenage girl would have, except for some things. When you opened the walk-in closet, you would find school robes and dress robes instead of Muggle clothes, loads of books in her dresser drawers instead of makeup and jewelry, and basically nothing on the top of her dresser because she usually didn't wear any makeup. The walls were completely bare since her Mum had decided it would be unexplainable if one of their relatives or acquaintances had walked in and seen moving posters of magical happenings. This hadn't really bothered Hermione since she barely spent any time at home. She unpacked all of her things and put them away neatly, and went downstairs.

Her father was now in the living room, reading the newspaper, and Hermione marched up to him and blinded him with a humungous hug. She was definitely happy to see her Dad.

A minute later, Hermione's Mum came in with a dish of chocolate chip cookies and sat down in the loveseat across from them, looking at them crossly. Hermione didn't take notice of this oddity.

"So," Hermione started to say after they'd all sat down, and helping herself to a cookie, "tell me what was so important that I had to come here halfway through my vacation?"

"Don't you miss us?" said Dad, with a strange look on his face.

"Of course, but I told you I'll be home forever after this year ends. So what is it?"

Her Mum and Dad were acting very strange. Mum was gesturing to Dad and giving a sideways look to Hermione. Her Dad's eyes widened a bit and then her Mum came into speech.

"We-uh-well, sweetie, we're," her Mum blabbed, and then in a whiff she said, "Erm…we're getting divorced."

Hermione didn't register in what her mother had just said. It had sounded like a jumbled of words.

"Excuse me?"

"We're getting divorced." Mum said more clearly now, and it seemed as if she was holding in her breath.

_Yeah right_, Hermione thought, and laughed out loud, "Very funny. If this is your way of getting me here, then I have to tell you that-" she stopped dead as she saw the serious faces facing her. Not a hint of amusement was on them.

"You're not kidding." She said as slowly as possible, trying to swallow the whole of the cookie without any milk. A dreading feeling was rising more and more in her stomach as her parents' faces got more serious, and it wasn't from the food.

"Why?" she said with a cracked voice, "You love each other. You can't split up!"

Her Dad leaned forward and clutched his hands together, and not making eye contact, he said, "Time changes things and people, Hermione. We're two completely different and we always argue-"

"What do you mean you always argue?" she fumed, "You never argue!"

"We didn't before, but we do now, and you haven't been around enough to-"

"This is about me isn't it?" she said, coming into dead realization.

"No, of course not, don't be silly." said Mum in an annoyed voice. Even though Hermione wasn't a mind reader like Snape or Lupin, she could tell when her mother was lying.

"Yes it is! You wish I still lived here and went to high school! You don't like me being a witch!"

"That's not why!" her mother said angrily, "we just can't live with each other anymore, and it's got nothing to do with you. I admit I haven't always been thrilled with you running off to school with those two boys for the whole year and don't even come home during the summer..."

Hermione couldn't believe her ears. They had just said that it wasn't because of her and now they were criticizing her and who she spent her time with. She goaded into speech, "I'm seventeen years old! I'm technically an adult! You can't tell me where to live or what school to go to!"

"You're not acting like an adult right now." said Dad in a disappointing voice. She knew she wasn't, but what could she do?

"You want me to stop going to Hogwarts? I'll do it if it ends your fights! Is that what you want?"

"No, no. We don't want that, we just wanted you home in the summer and vacation, but that doesn't matter now." Her mother said with a sigh.

"Your mother is moving out tomorrow and you have to decide who you want to live with." Her father said.

Time seemed to have stopped. She couldn't feel the air or smell the freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies placed on the cocktail table in front of her.

"To-tomorrow? But tomorrow is Christmas!" said Hermione in disbelief.

Her mother looked at her gravely, "I'm sorry Hermione, but I start work at the new clinic the day after Christmas so I have to move everything tomorrow. I would have left a long time ago but I decided to wait until you came."

"New clinic? Where are you going?" said Hermione, absolutely dazed.

"France."

"WHAT?" she sat there, flabbergasted, "France? Are you crazy? That's so far away!"

"I'm sorry honey. You have to decide soon whether you're coming with me or staying here."

Hermione's head whirled crazily as she tried to take in what her parents had just said. A system in her body had turned off with a flick of a switch and she couldn't take any more news.

"Well?" said Mum, waiting for an answer. But she didn't have an answer. How was she supposed to choose?

At that instant, she got up on her feet and stormed out the living room not speaking another word. She heard their shouts behind her, but she didn't respond to them. Up and up she went on the staircase without looking back. Hermione didn't know why she was acting like this, because she usually faced her problems, not run from them. That would be pulling a Harry. All she knew is that she didn't have an answer to their question….she could never decide who to live with…

Hermione entered her room and collapsed onto the bed. She could feel tears coming but held them back with a huge effort, knowing that once she started she wouldn't be able to stop. She just stared ahead at the mirror in front of her, perceiving her image. There were tiny glints in her eyes.

At that precise moment, Hermione heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs rapidly. Hermione pulled out her wand and was about to utter the door locking curse when the opened door slammed shut by itself. A second later, the door banged.

"Hermione, open up!" came her father's voice, and she responded, "Leave me alone!"

"Stop acting like a little child and open the door this instant!" said her mother heatedly.

Hermione didn't answer to that and she certainly didn't open the door. After a while, the banging stopped and her parents retreated. Hermione issued a sigh of relief and lay down on the bed comfortably with her hands behind her head on the pillow. She gazed up at the blank ceiling in deep thought.

It was her fault. _All her fault was _what one voice in her said. Maybe if she had come home more during the summer in her earlier years then maybe she could have kept her parents happy. Maybe if she had never gone to Hogwarts in the first place, then her parents would still be together.

_But it can't be all your fault,_ said another small voice in her head. She couldn't possibly be the whole reason why her parents were splitting up, could she? There had to be another motive to it, like one had cheated on the other or something like that. She just didn't want to hear what it was right now.

It actually didn't matter whose fault it was now. What mattered was who she was going to live with. How could they do this to her? A burning pain rose in her heart like red hot heartburn. How was she supposed to choose one parent over the other?

For the first time in her life, she wished she was any normal Muggle going to normal high school and living at home with her parents. Then she would have no worries about her parents, about the evils in the wizarding world, and much more…

Once again, tears were starting to form in her eyes, but she brushed them away and took deep breaths. She was going to be strong about this. No more crying for Hermione.

What was she going to do tomorrow? Would she be spending Christmas in France with her mother or spend it in England with her father? It would surely be the worst Christmas ever, since she would be spending it with only one parent and no friends or relatives.

This was definitely the worst Christmas present she had ever gotten.


	14. A Transformation

**_Previously in Chapter 13: After an unfriendly encounter with an over-furious Harry, Hermione returns to her house from Grimmauld Place and faces a horrible situation-her parents have divorced. She encloses herself from the world and blames herself for the separation, sitting in her room and not a tear coming down her cheek._**

Chapter 14 – Transformation

The snowfall had finally stopped at Red Oak Drive on Christmas morning like a person stopping to relax after a long journey, which was a good thing, because if it had kept on snowing at that rate, average sized people would've been able to be buried in it. The trees' branches in front of Hermione's room window were toppled with snow that was thicker than the branches. It was perfect Christmas weather outside, but inside, it was a different story.

Hermione wished the previous day had all been a dream, but when she heard a crash downstairs in the kitchen, she knew it wasn't. She suspected that her Mum had broken some chinaware while packing. It had been already decided what she was taking with her to her temporary apartment, which were most of the kitchenware, most of the showcase pieces in the sitting rooms, two of the three cars, and maybe Hermione. What was staying behind in the house was the furniture, Dad's office supplies and computer, and maybe Hermione.

It was obvious that she still hadn't decided who to live with. How could she? If she stayed with one parent, she would miss the other. If she chose one parent over the other, the other one would get hurt, no matter how much they tried to hide it. Even though she could alternate between them, it still didn't feel right…She still couldn't believe that her mother was moving to France. France, where her parents lived. And of all days to leave, she had to leave on Christmas.

She felt like staying secluded in her room forever and just lie on her comfy bed and read books all day until vacation ended, but she knew she couldn't do that. She would have to go downstairs at one time or another and face her parents with a decision, and besides, she was hungry. Nothing had entered her mouth since the chocolate chip cookie the previous afternoon. Maybe she ought to sneak down to the kitchen to grab a bite…

But she couldn't. Her Mum was in the kitchen packing and she wanted to avoid a situation as long as possible, so she climbed lazily out of her bed and went to the sitting room farthest away from the kitchen where their Christmas tree was. It shined with red, blue, green, and yellow lights that gave off light to the assorted ornaments on the tree like little white angels, colored balls, gold and silver ribbons, and a big peacock feather placed on top. Underneath the tree lay boxes of presents, and she separated them and began to open hers.

She had gotten 200 pounds from her father, which she thought would be very useful in the future, and an enormous make up gift set from her Mum, which she doubted she would use. She never more makeup, and her mother knew this.

The last presents she opened were a set of books about Ancient Runes from Harry. She opened each and every book and was fascinated by the amount of information was in them, and decided that they would be very useful during this vacation. The last present, which she suspected was from Ron, was a small manila envelope. She eagerly opened it and found a glowing card inside with red poinsettia flowers fluttering and gold ribbons glowing on the front. She opened it and red the bold red words:

_With a kiss on the lips_

_And hand in hand_

_We are one forever_

_In heart and mind._

_And after the month of December,_

_Command me in any way _

_For I am at your service, my princess_

_Boss me around or harass me, for I will obey._

_For two weeks this will last_

_And after this I will still be your knight in shining armor_

_Just walk beside me and hold my hand_

_And I'll shower you with glamour._

Hermione smiled as she finished reading the poem. Ron must have been low on money to buy a present out of a store, but she didn't care. It was the sweetest poem and the most fun gift out of them all. So he was going to be under her command for two weeks. There were so many ways she could take this as an advantage. She could use him to help her with S.P.E.W or make him do all of her Head Girl duties, and a bunch of other things that were swimming inside her head.

Her parents' presents drew her attention again and her mind went back to the decision she had to make. Mum or Dad, Mum or Dad, Mum or Dad…

She could still switch between them, though…but it would be like throwing a rag doll back and forth with no value. She wanted to see her parents together, not apart. If she'd only been able to do something a long time ago….

Hermione thought for a long time and finally made a decision. Still wearing her cloud print pajamas and overgrown sweatshirt, she strolled downstairs and approached her mother, who was bent over a high cardboard box with three-part china dishes and decorated bowls.

Hermione made a sound to have her presence acknowledged. Her mother raised her head and stood straight to face her.

"Well?" she said coldly, crossing her arms, "finally out of your room and acting like a grownup?"

Hermione ignored her question, "What time are you leaving?"

A glint of hope shined on her mother's face and the coldness disappeared in a whiff. She glanced at her watch, "Probably around eleven or twelve. You'd better pack your things quickly."

There was no way Hermione could pack all of her books and clothes in two hours, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to.

"Maybe…maybe I should just stay here for the rest of the vacation," and as she saw her mother's fallen face, she hastily added, "Only because there's no way I could move all of my things right now. When I come home from Hogwarts, I'll decide who I'll live with first…and then I guess I can switch between months…"

It seemed reasonable to Hermione, but her mother had an expression on her face that said that she wanted to keep Hermione forever; but of course she wasn't going to say that out loud.

"Alright then." said Mum with great effort and went back to stuffing newspaper into bowls, and Hermione left without any emotion showing on her face.

…

Horrible. Just plain horrible. This was the worst Christmas vacation that she'd ever had. She felt like she was trapped in a cookie jar with no way out. With every morning, new clouds collided with the horizon but didn't shine in Hermione's eyes. She had asked her father if she could go back to Grimmauld Place, but he said that she should stay here and spend time with him. Worrying that she wouldn't have fun, he made fruitless attempts to get her mind off of things by taking her shopping at the mall and letting her buy anything she wanted (she didn't buy much except for a couple of books). They also went to the theater but Hermione found herself yawning and falling asleep in her soft seat. They went out to dinner many nights and even went to the local park one afternoon for lunch, but she didn't find much enjoyment in these things. Before, there had been three people in her family, and now there were two in her already small family. It was like the missing wheels to a bike.

She often thought about her Mum, like when she was in the bath and body shop she and Mum used to go to so much. Hermione could just imagine Mum standing next to her toxicating herself with strawberry and apple body spray. When Hermione would be tossing a salad for Dad, she'd remember one time when she'd sneakedinto the kitchen for some hidden candy and her Mum had made her throw it all out.

Her Dad didn't say much about mum or elaborated on what had happened, and Hermione wasn't stupid enough to ask. Perhaps he thought that she wouldn't believe him no matter what the reason, and she had to admit to herself that this was partly true. Dad mostly asked her how school was going and how her friends were. Happy to get off the subject of sadness, she told him she was going out with Ron. All her father had to say on this subject was, "What a nice boy."

Ron had written to her twice during the week to check up on how she was doing, and Hermione didn't write back because she just got lazy. She didn't think she could put down the big news on parchment and decided she would tell Ron at Hogwarts. They must have been having the time of their lives at Grimmauld Place, all together as a big family and laughing and enjoying themselves. A pang of jealousy hit her when she thought of this.

Basically, it was quieter than ever at their house on Red Oak Drive, and when her Dad was at work, all Hermione did was read. In a book about Advanced Magic, she read the experience and level of magic could reach to a level where you didn't have to articulate a spell in order for it to work. She thought back to her first night at home when she'd closed the door with only a raise of her wand. Her magic surely had to be advancing if she could do magic by just pointing at the object with her wand.

But there were only so many books a person could read, even for her. Out of sheer boredom, she started experimenting with her makeup set. She applied some foundation and eye shadow and sparkled her lips with some lip gloss. Her face looked more even-toned and slender, but not so fake that she looked like a Barbie Doll. She could definitely get used to this.

It was her last night at home and once again she was in her room sitting in front of her dresser. Over the vacation, she had become very self conscious and found herself often staring at herself in the mirror, and right now she was doing the same thing. She noticed that her curly bushy hair just didn't sort her personality anymore. Straight hair would suit her better, being plain, simple, and dull, with no life to bounce.

On impulse, Hermione took a pair of scissors and cut off scraps of her hair. Before, her hair had reached down her back almost to her hips, and now it brushed her shoulders softly. Hermione gazed down at the locks of hair on the floor and realized what she had just done. She honestly didn't know what had come over her. Her hair fell down unevenly and appeared even frizzier.

In the next hour, she spent her time evening out her hair with her wand after she'd wetted it. The final result was that her hair went past her ears but didn't touch her shoulders, and it had returned back to her frizzy and curly state. Looking in the mirror, she found a completely different Hermione staring back at her.

…

Hermione made entry into King's Cross with slight relief, knowing that she wouldn't have to deal with problems at home. She could just pour herself in school and studying as usual.

It was another freezing morning; the temperature was as cold as that of Antarctica and the gusty wind swept past her and left a chilling feeling around her neck, not having any hair to shelter it anymore. With her short straight air, she looked much older in her robes.

Hermione and her father rushed through the solid barrier between Platforms nine and ten, and found themselves in another world. The brick-red Hogwarts train faced them, with steam poofing out from top.

"I still can't figure out how no one out there noticed that we just walked through a wall." said Dad from behind her.

"I guess they don't look close enough." said Hermione, walking ahead to find a seat in the back of the train. She wanted to be alone in the train so she wouldn't have to deal with anyone. She knew that they would ask for an explanation for why she had to leave Grimmauld Place.

"Okay, Dad," she said as she reached the rear end of the train, "it's time to go."

He hugged her tightly, "Do your best, honey, and try not to get in trouble."

Se definitely couldn't promise that since she didn't exactly have a clean record for the past six years at Hogwarts. She stepped in the train with a last wave to her Dad and found an empty compartment and settled herself in it. She doubted if Ron, Harry, and Ginny were on the train yet since they always took forever to get ready.

Hermione stared out the window and about five minutes later, the train started to move. The magical platform vanished from her eyes and now she faced green steeping hills and a lake underneath the tracks.

From her left side, she heard a few familiar voices.

"Everywhere is full." She heard Ginny say, and then Ron said, "Where's Hermione?" She heard their footsteps close in on her compartment.

_Of all the compartments on the train, they have to come in this one…_

Expectantly, the door slid open and Hermione turned her face toward it. For some reason, she got a swelling feeling in her stomach as she saw Ron's worried face. Tears were coming on for the first time in weeks; she tried desperately to hold them back.

Ron immediately sat next to her, "_Where in Merlin's name have you been? _Why didn't you answer to any of my letters?"

Hermione's throat clogged up, barring her to say anything. It was just too much. Everything from two weeks ago came rushing back to her like a smoke bomb, and she exploded. She sobbed continuously on Ron's shoulder, not noticing the looks of horror on Harry and Ginny's faces. Ron beckoned them to go away and they did, leaving Ron and Hermione alone.

She grabbed a hold of Ron and cried and cried. Ron, on the other hand, looked really uncomfortable, not knowing what to say. Finally, after his shoulder became wet, he managed to voice out a question, "What happened?"

Through significant snobs and gulps, she told Ron the whole story. Ron didn't say anything until she finished, or he just didn't know what to say even when she was talking. When she finished, Ron opened his mouth but suddenly, the compartment door opened. A lady stood there with a rolling cart piled with all kinds of food.

Ron gave out a sigh of relief and said, "Uh…do you have any water?"

"Certainly." said the woman, and poured out some water into a glass and handed it to Ron while giving Hermione a curious look.

"Thank you." said Ron, and the door closed, "Here."

Hermione gulped in the water and a cooling sensation filled her stomach. She stopped crying but still heaved deep breaths.

Ron patted her on the back, "Don't worry, Hermione, it'll be okay. I mean, yeah, it's bad that your folks split up, but you'll still be seeing both of them." He said awkwardly.

"Separately, and what about when I go to France? I won't be able to see you." said Hermione, caressing Ron's ear.

"You can Apparate, remember?"

"Oh yeah," she said. She hadn't thought of that, "maybe I can just stay with you forever and won't have to go home."

Ron smiled. "I think that's the cause of your problems, not the solution. Your parents were somewhat right saying that you don't spend enough time at home."

"So you're taking their side now?" she said, pulling her arm away.

"No!" he protested, "But you've spent the last two or three summers with us, and I don't think they split up because of you."

"Then why else?"

"They probably got into a fight about themselves. Did you even bother to ask them why they got a divorce?"

"No. I didn't think it was necessary."

"Maybe you should. It's really strange that they split up, isn't it? Divorces aren't exactly common."

Hermione made an amusing noise, "You're kidding right? Divorces are so common in this age that it's scary."

"Well, they're not common in the wizarding world." contradicted Ron.

"That's definitely a good thing." Hermione said in a gloomy voice. She wondered where Harry and Ginny had gone off to.

Ron gazed at her.

"What?" said Hermione.

"You cut your hair," he said, stroking a hand through her hair, "it looks nice. No more bushy head."

"I didn't know what I was thinking. I think I went crazy for a while and just took some scissors and slashed it off." said Hermione truthfully.

"There's nothing new about that. You're always crazy." said Ron, trying to cheer her up.

"Cute. Very cute." She said with a hint of a grin.

"And what's this?" said Ron, wiping the black marks underneath her eyes.

"It's called mascara."

"Even Ginny doesn't put that rubbish on. Since when did you start putting makeup on, eh?"

"Since I had absolutely nothing to do at home." Hermione answered, "Can you call Harry and Ginny in now?"

"Are you sure?" said Ron, looking concerned.

"Positive." said Hermione, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Ron left the compartment. Hermione took out her wand and pointed it to her face, "_Scourgify!"_ She felt her wet face clear and dry up. She lifted up Crookshanks, who had been curled up asleep on the floor, and went back to her seat.

The door opened again and came in Ron, followed by Harry and Ginny. Apparently Ron had told them what was up because they didn't raise any questions, but kept on staring at her.


	15. The Return of Dumbledore's Army

Chapter 15 – The Return of Dumbledore's Army

It was evening now and Hermione sat comfortably in the Gryffindor Common Room with Ron, Harry, Ginny, Dean, Neville, Seamus, and Parvati. Hermione felt a little better now, thanks to Ron, and for the first time in weeks, she had eaten to a full stomach.

They were all talking about their Christmas vacations while eating delicious treacle tarts. Hermione was the only one who didn't join in, because spending the Christmas alone and depressed wouldn't exactly be the highlight of their conversations.

A little while later, Ron changed the conversation and suggested the starting up of the DA again. Most of them agreed to the idea and Hermione promised she would tell them about the first meeting.

Time went on until only Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left in the common room. Harry lay on the couch and read a book for school, while Hermione played chess with Ron. As usual, she lost horribly.

"You know, even if you played this game for a hundred years, you wouldn't get any better." joked Ron after the game was finished.

"HEY!"

She suddenly remembered something from Christmas morning that would torture him for weeks to come, "Ron."

"Hmm?" he said as he cleared up the chess board from the table.

"I command you to do my Head duties tomorrow."

Ron looked up, and snorted mirthlessly.

"So I take it you liked my little card?" said Ron, still laughing.

"I loved it. You'll do my duties tomorrow night, right?"

"Yes, my princess." said Ron, bowing sarcastically.

"Would you two cut it out!" screeched Harry and put his book down for a moment, "I'm trying to read here!"

"Your temper needs a major cool down, Harry." Hermione pointed out, back to her serious state.

"And Ginny was right; you two seriously need some air." Harry retorted.

Hermione had to admit that she was a bit intimidated of Harry at the time. After all, he had attempted to hurt her with the worst curse ever known to man. She was half expecting him to jump at her viciously any second. That reminded her of something.

"Harry, do you remember the day out at the porch at Grimmauld Place?"

Harry looked at her sharply and sat straight up while Ron conjured up a tense expression.

"What about it?" said Harry.

"I forgot to mention it there because there was no time…but when you went-um-ballistic, you…thought I was a man or something-"

"What do you mean?" said Harry angrily.

"Well-you called me a bastard and then you said…" Hermione spoke, trying to recall Harry's exact words, "something about me betraying you."

There was as distinguishing silence in the room. Finally, Ron spoke, "That's crazy."

"I don't remember any of it? Why? Was I possessed?" said Harry.

"I don't think so," said Hermione surely, "Voldemort would have to be in close contact with you in order to do that and there weren't any diaries around either…I think his anger took you over for a matter of seconds and I guess his words did too…it's really scary when you think about it…and there's another thing…"

"Oh lord, what now?" said Harry, looking dazed.

Hermione told them about that evil feeling she'd gotten when she had touched his hands.

"This is getting way too weird." Ron finalized after she finished her story.

"It's getting weird?" said Harry with sarcasm, "Where have you been for the past seven years?"

…

In Transfiguration class the next morning, Hermione had asked Professor McGonagall for the password to Dumbledore's office and to her astonishment, Professor McGonagall had given it to her. So now they were marching up to Dumbledore's office. They stopped in front of the stone gargoyle, empowered with bulging eyes and flexible wings.

"Caramel Toffee." said Ron. Instantly, the gargoyle maneuvered to the left and in front of them was a marble pole with a griffin pasted on it, surrounded by a spiral staircase moving continuously upwards.

They stepped on the staircase and it kept on spiraling up.

The staircase finally stopped moving and Harry pushed open the next door. Hermione had been in Dumbledore's office only once before, and that had been last year. It was a vast circular room with different portraits on the wall, who were staring at them right now as they came in, and some of them went into the other portraits and whispered into their ears, especially giving Harry looks. On her right, Hermione saw a beautiful bird with flame colored feathers bowing down and recognized it as Fawkes the phoenix. Next to Fawkes was a high oak desk with three legs, and on it was a long gleaming sword that reflected light to the ceiling. Hermione didn't know why, but this sword attracted her attention and she had a sudden yearning to go over there and hold it in her hands, but then Dumbledore's voice distracted her.

"What a pleasant surprise."

At the messy desk sat Dumbledore; he had a quill in his hand and appeared to have been writing something on a piece of parchment. He looked at them, his blue eyes twinkling behind those half-moon spectacles, and smiled.

To Hermione, Dumbledore looked five hundred years old. His crooked nose seemed more crooked to her, and new wrinkles had formed on his already wrinkled face. He wore a violent purple cloak with decorative patters around the borders that gave him a surprising cheerful look.

"Well, what can I do for you three?" said Dumbledore and put his quill down.

"We…erm…wanted to-well, we wondered if we could start a Defense Club."

Dumbledore bore his eyes into Hermione's, and then said, "Ah, I see. You want to prepare Harry for battle."

Sometimes she hated it when people could read minds.

"Yes, but I thought that everyone could benefit from it, and you could appoint a proper teacher for it."

Dumbledore observed the three of them and then nodded in agreement, "Alright then, Hermione. I will conduct the first meeting on Wednesday and notices will be put up in all of the Houses stating the time and location of the meeting. And as for the teacher heading it, I will have to ask the teachers who are free for it."

"Thank you." said Hermione courteously.

"While you three are here, I must ask you something. Is there anything bothering you?"

The three looked at each other. Hermione did have something bothering her, but as the others shook their heads, she followed.

Dumbledore nodded curtly, "Well then, I must get back to my work, forgive me."

As they walked out of Dumbledore's office, Hermione spoke first, "We should have told him about the Crystal and the dreams."

"He already knows. The Order will have told him." said Harry indifferently.

"Maybe he could have told us something new about it-"

"Believe me, he's told me all I need to know."

…

"Hermione." said Draco, who had been scrubbing a pot, as Hermione entered the greenhouse, "I thought it was Weasley again."

"No, it's me." She said, closing in on where Draco was standing and grabbing one of the pots as well.

"Where have you been? Why has Weasley been doing all of your duties?"

Hermione chuckled. For the past three days, Ron had been doing her duties and Hermione had been sitting pleasantly in the common room reading more books. She knew it was unfair of her to make Ron do her duties, but she wanted to make this present worthwhile, and it wasn't like Ron could protest. But tonight, he had Quidditch practice so she had to go.

Draco looked incredulously at her when she told him about Ron's gift, "I know he's poor, but he didn't even have enough money to buy you a real present?"

Hermione scowled at him, "It was the best present ever, and money isn't everything."

"In our family it is." said Draco, setting an odd purple colored plant to one side, "You can't blame me for saying that. I was brought up that way."

_That is true_, she thought. Speaking of his family…she had a desperate urge to ask him something. She wanted to know if he was already a Death Eater. It was definitely possible, since Voldemort could have been in his house during one time or another, and he could've made Draco join the Death Eaters…

"What happened to you? What's wrong with your face?"

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

"You look so thin," he said as he stared at her, "but your hair looks nice."

"Thanks," said Hermione, "Family problems, that's all."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah…" she said, and decided to change the subject, "So are you coming to the DA meeting tomorrow?"

He laughed, "Yeah right, like I need to go to that rubbish. You do remember that I cast the Morbida Curse on you once, right?"

"Like I could ever forget." said Hermione, shooting him a dirty look, "But seriously, you should come. It's open to all houses; it's not like last time."

"I'll think about it."

…

"Why couldn't we have this meeting in the Requirement room like before? It would have been much better." said Ron as they went up to the third floor. Hermione thought it was more exhausting than going to Trelawney's classroom because of the location of the unused classroom, which was at the corner of the third floor, a place she'd never set foot in despite all the various places she had to go because of her Head Girl duties.

"Probably, but they wouldn't want more students to find out about that place. It was supposed to be a secret." said Harry.

They strolled down the unlit corridor until they reached the designated classroom. The dusty door was closed and on it read a small sign "DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS" with curvy gold letters.

Hermione pushed open the door and came face to face with someone so unexpected that she gasped in surprise, Ron gave a vile glare, and Harry, on the other hand, exclaimed, "YOU!"

Snape's nostrils flared and he narrowed his deep dark eyes into an icy stare.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," he spat, stepping aside, "now get inside before you earn yourself a detention."

Harry opened his mouth in retaliation but Hermione stomped on his foot. Snape smiled malevolently.

She walked into the room and looked around. It was immediately clear to her why this room had been chosen. The immense-sized room was brightly lit with pearl white torches surrounding the room, and on the walls were flat parchments filled with basic spell information, tips, and techniques. To her the room was a notice board with papers everywhere. It was practically empty, because there were no bookcases like the Room of Requirement or cushions for when they practiced stunning, but as Hermione put her foot forward, it swelled downwards into the ground. She retrieved it in astonishment and examined the ground with her hand. There were several spots where if you put force there, they would lump down, and she guessed it was for protection from when someone fell hard on the ground.

It was only half past six so nobody else was there yet, and they had come early because they had expected Tonks to be the teacher. After all, she was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Who knew they were going to get stuck with Snape? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, she thought, if Snape was in charge of it.

Once again, Harry spoke, "Where is Ton-Professor Tonks?"

"Luckily not present at the current location. I am in charge of this little dueling club, and the next time you don't address me in respect, it will be twenty points off."

Harry's mouth opened wide but Hermione pinched him in the back. He jumped in shock, causing Snape to sneer.

"Come no, let's look at that." Hermione mumbled, and they moved to the other side of the classroom. She wanted to keep Harry from getting in trouble as much as she could, because that would easily be another change to make his violent temper unleash. As she was examining all of the diverse incantations on the glued-on parchment, she perceived Harry staring at her angrily.

"What?" said Hermione, lifting her finger off the parchment.

"This is your fault," Harry barked, and then imitated her voice horribly, "'let's start the DA. It'll be really beneficial for Harry.' And now because of you, I have to put up with him in Potions, Occlumency, _and_ in here."

She stood there speechless; words hurt way more than curses. Thankfully, Ron came to her defense, "It's not her fault. She didn't know Snape would be in charge."

"Of course you're siding with her."

Hermione turned her almost-tearful face back to the wall. She was not to blame; how could she have known that Snape was going to be leading the club? She wasn't a seer.

She pretended not to hear them as she turned her attention back to the spell she had been looking at, but she heard Ron mumble something like, "…her parents…leave her alone, I don't want her to start crying again…"

When seven o'clock came along, the room was occupied by almost all of the old DA members except for the sixth and seventh years that had already graduated, some Ravenclaw girls that she didn't know the names of, two young Hufflepuff boys she had seen in detention by the names of Martin Brody and Eddie Fisher, and a few Gryffindors she didn't recognize. Hermione noticed that no one from Slytherin had come until one more person made entry into the classroom. Draco Malfoy walked in with a haughty expression but Hermione caught some intimidation in his cold gray eyes as well.

"What are you doing here?" Ron spat out as Draco came in. Several other people looked in his direction and produced angry looks as well.

"Shut up Weasley," said Draco coldly, "I have as much right to be here as you."

Ron looked around at the others' fierceful faces, "Not according to them you don't."

"Leave him alone, Ron. This club is open to everyone." said Hermione in defense.

Ron spun around to glare at her, and before he could open his mouth again, Snape said, "Settle down. Now, first, I am going to divide you into three groups according to your magical capabilities. First to third years over there, fourth and fifth years here, and sixth and seventh years to the far end. Move. Now."

The crowd dispersed into three different sections and Ron automatically moved towards Hermione. Expectedly, Draco was left partnerless. She hesitated.

"Ron, can you partner up with Harry?" said Hermione timidly.

Ron looked stunned, "Excuse me?" Harry turned at the mention of his name.

"Can you work with Harry? I'm going to partner up with Draco since he doesn't have anyone to work with."

Ron stood there bewildered as Hermione turned to Draco, who apparently had been listening.

"Uh…okay, thanks." said Draco uncertainly, and stared past her, "You should see the look on your boyfriend's face right now."

Hermione turned. "You mean you'd rather work with him?" Ron spat out.

"It's only for today, Ron."

"That's so-"

"Oh grow up, Ron." Hermione said without realizing it, and a second later, she deeply regretted it. Snape's voice trailed in the classroom, "…choose one of the appropriate spells on the wall and I will come around to confirm them…"

She new that this would be Ron's reaction, but she couldn't just ignore Draco. After all, she was the one who had invited him to this meeting. It wasn't such a big deal; she was only partnering up with him for dueling, not running off with him

Hermione lead Draco to the far left of the room because she had seen something interesting when she'd entered the class. And there it was on top of the wall; a person hurled and twirled into the air continuously and then fell down with a distinct thump. It was called the Hurling Hex, and they decided to perform this spell.

Finally, Hermione could get back at Draco for all those times he'd tried or had cursed her. There was no way he was going to master this spell faster than her.

"I am going to pound you." said Hermione.

"Don't be so arrogant." Draco smirked. Everyone else was choosing spells and the level of loudness had increased incredibly. With a sideways look, Hermione could see that Ron was still staring at her. _Oh god, I try to do one decent thing and it's the end of the world._

Suddenly, Viktor came to mind and remembered how jealous Ron had been when he'd seen her with Viktor at the Yule Ball. But it wasn't like she was going out with Draco_. I'll talk to him later_, she thought.

"You should have chosen your spell by now." said Snape, standing in front of the class, "Start on my count."

Hermione pointed her wand at Draco as Snape said, "Three…two…one…GO!"

She roared just like the others in the room. Wands flew in all directions, people slammed and crashed into the walls, and screams rang in the air like disfigured choruses.

Hermione's wand produced a white solid strand of light that stuck Draco's identical light. The two strands forged together solidly to make an unusual black one. They held their wands for a few seconds in astonishment and the moment Hermione lowered her wand, the black light broke off in a zip and blasted her off her feet. She flew backwards and crashed into Neville.

"Sorry, sorry." she mumbled as she made an attempt to get back on her feet. She rubbed her sore arms and stretched out her almost broken legs. Hermione saw Draco staggering as well.

"Owww…" Draco groaned, rubbing his forehead, "well, you definitely pounded me…"

Hermione laughed, and so did he. Despite all off the people and the commotion in the room, there was only one thing Ron had his eyes fixed upon. He was giving Hermione the glare of death.


	16. Racing Over Ron

Chapter 16 – Racing over Ron

On January seventeen Hermione witnessed something she had never witnessed before. She was coming back from her Daily Head duties tiredly, and when she entered the common room, she found someone sniffing in the corner. Curiously, she approached the location of this noise and found a redhead's head buried in her arms. Most of the other students in the room didn't notice Ginny crying but some did cast anxious looks her way. Hermione lowered herself to the floor and budged Ginny in the arms.

"Ginny, Ginny." But Ginny didn't look up. To Hermione, it was a scary sight. Ginny was one of the strongest young women she knew, if not the strongest. She had never seen her friend breakdown and cry like this. That was her job.

_Maybe she just wants to be left alone_. Hermione backed away to where Harry was sitting.

"What's wrong with Ginny?" asked Hermione, settling herself on the chair next to Harry.

"Dunno." said Harry, while working on his Potions essay.

"Where's Ron, then?"

"Trying to avoid you." said Harry with a smirk, his quill still brushing the parchment.

"This is getting ridiculous! Just because I worked together once, count that please, _once_, with Draco, doesn't mean the end of the world! He didn't have a partner and I was the one who told him to come there!"

"Bad idea."

Hermione glared at him ferociously, "Sometimes I wish guys would just grow up! If Ron's talking to another girl, do I flip out? No!"

At last, Harry put his quill down and faced her, "That godiva chick from the Halloween Dance suddenly comes to mind."

"He was kissing her, not talking!" screeched Hermione.

"Whatever. I'm just trying to point out that he got jealous-"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

"-or worried that you don't like him anymore."

"WHAT! That's insane!"

"That's what I would think if I was in his position." He said simply.

Hermione decided not to say anything else. She knew Ron had grown up over the years but he still had not overcome his issues about jealousy. She didn't know what she could do to prove that she only cared about him…but then again, did she really?

_Of course I care about him. I can't believe I just thought that._

But what if they just kept on fighting like this all the time and then after they got married they would fight more and then get divorced…

_Whoa, you're going too far ahead,_ she thought. She didn't need to be thinking about marriage when she was only seventeen years old. But if Ron flinched at the sight of her conversing with another guy, then maybe she needed to really think about this relationship…

The Common Room began to empty until there was only Hermione, Harry, and Ginny left. Hermione stood up.

"I'm gonna go talk to Ginny." said Hermione to Harry, who looked at her and got up as well.

_Ugh, when will they learn? _"Alone. Woman to woman talk."

"Oh, fine." He grumbled and sat back down carelessly.

As she approached her, Hermione saw Ginny staring dreamily at the ceiling as if it were the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen. Well, at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" she said concernedly, but her friend didn't jerk out of her reverie. She had the appearance of a ghost, with no feelings or expressions.

"Ginny!" Hermione yelled so loud that Harry looked at them with his eyes raised. Finally, she bolted and sat up, "Sorry."

"What's wrong? Why were you crying?" inquired Hermione, sitting down next to her.

Ginny looked terribly embarrassed and once again was on the verge of tears, but she did speak, "Dean and I broke up…"

"Oh dear…" said Hermione, patting Ginny, "I'm sorry to hear that. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"He…cheated on me…" said Ginny silently, tears dripping out of her overcast eyes.

"Ginny, when you say cheated, do you mean-?"

"Yeah. He-"

"Never mind." Hermione cut her off, "I get the picture"

Ginny smirked grimly, "Who ever created men? They must have lost their minds…"

Hermione secretly agreed, but at the moment, that wasn't going to cheer up Ginny, "Why did he do it?"

She made an angry noise somewhat between a huff and a snarl, "He said he was tricked. Yeah right. Who the hell gets tricked into something like that?"

"Oh…who was it?" said Hermione.

"Do you think I stayed around to find out?" barked Ginny.

"Okay, sorry…maybe you can talk to him and figure out exactly what happened."

Ginny shot her a threatening look.

"You've been together for two years, you can't just throw all of that away." said Hermione in a calm voice.

"How about this: You try to explain to my brother why you chose Malfoy over him and I'll try to listen to that rotten cheater." said Ginny.

"I didn't CHOOSE Draco over Ron, I only-" she stopped abruptly and glared at her, "Nice try trying to change the subject."

"Why did you do that anyway?" asked Ginny, appearing in a slightly better condition now that she was scandalizing Hermione.

"I already told you before, and if Ron gets irked at the smallest things, then…" she trailed off the rest of her sentence.

Ginny peered at her as if she didn't believe what she was hearing, "You're going to break up with my brother? Over Draco Malfoy?"

"_Ginny!"_

"Okay, okay, but I see where he's coming from." said Ginny.

"I hate it when he acts so jealous! You remember Viktor?"

"He liked you then and didn't realize it. Of course he was jealous, but you can't break up over something silly."

"Look who's talking." said Hermione furtively.

"I have a good reason. Come on, Hermione, you and Ron are destined to be together. Everyone knows that."

Destined to be together. That was a powerful thought, "You really think so?"

Ginny nodded, "People would kill to have a relationship like yours. Ron's madly in love with you. You can't break up with him over a stupid thing."

"He's madly in love with me?" Hermione restated. She suddenly felt lightheaded.

"Well, duh." said Ginny as she wiped her eyes.

"But I don't want to fight like this all the time-"

"Everyone has fights. It's normal."

Not if it gets you divorced, Hermione thought. Her parents entered her mind again, wishing that they were still together.

…

Hermione opened the door anxiously to Professor McGonagall's office and sniffed the air curiously. An odd smell of dead rats was coming from it, poisoning her nose. The rough-textured wall closed in on her as she walked to the teacher's desk and sat down in the chair. Hermione was nervous about her first Animagi lesson, and seeing that Professor McGonagall wasn't there, she was getting more nervous by the second.

On the desk were a few solid silver goblets and beside them were a couple of untitled ancient looking books. _I can never resist a good old book…_Hermione made to grab the top one when suddenly, something sprung up from under the desk, making Hermione jump back. A dark tabby cat with glowing eyes put her paws threateningly on the book that Hermione had almost touched.

"You scared me half to death, Professor McGonagall." She said and sat back down with relief as the cat vanished and her teacher grew back to her normal size. An old full grown woman faced her now with diamond-red robes that illuminated in the yellow light. Professor McGonagall took a seat in her chair.

"Sorry, Ms.Granger, I'd just prefer it if you didn't touch those books." She said, "All right. Let's get started, shall we?"

Hermione nodded, wondering what they were going to do first.

"Today will be a practical lesson, and you'll be practicing to change these rats' appearances as I say."

She thought it was a rather easy first lesson. First, Professor McGonagall told her to make the rat's tail longer with a specific spell and she did so on the first try. The rat scrambled frantically but it had nowhere to go in the box that McGonagall had put the rat in. It reminded Hermione of Scabbers, which reminded her of Ron, who wasn't talking to him. She brushed away the thought as hard as she could, but it stayed with her like an annoying shadow for the rest of the lesson.

…

Hermione had quite a hard time getting out of bed the next morning since her Animagi lesson had lasted until ten and then she had stayed up longer to finish her homework. If she didn't hurry up with her shower, she wouldn't have any time to study for her Ancient Runes test at breakfast. One advantage was that her hair was so short now that it didn't take long to wash it.

Hurrying, she rushed down to the Great Hall and walked in the loud chatter of students, and spoons and dishes clinked with a vibrating sound. She strolled to her usual spot at the Gryffindor table when she noticed from a fair distance that someone was already sitting there.

_It was her_. Hermione knew right away that it was the girl that had been dancing with Ron on the night of the Halloween dance. She was so easy to recognize, even with the same colored robes as everyone else.

Instantly, Hermione sat down at the nearest table. A black-haired Hufflepuff girl next to her jumped and said rather rudely, "Excuse me?"

"Sorry." said Hermione distractedly, craning her neck to look at the girl. She was sitting across from Ron, who had an annoyed look on his face. This was a slight relief to Hermione.

Suddenly, something firing hot spilled on her and she yelped in shock. There was coffee splattered all over the front of her robes. She cleaned it off with a flick of her wand and when she looked back at the Gryffindor table, she saw Ron laughing.

A brave feeling arose in her body. _That's it_, she decided. _He's mine, not yours. _And with that, Hermione stormed up to their House table. This girl needed a serious clue to get off her boyfriend.

As she arrived to the table, Ron looked up at her, mildly surprised, and it was awkward for her too since they hadn't been talking to each other.

"Hey Ron, I was wondering if you could help me with that homework." Hermione made up an excuse, pretending not to notice the person he was talking to. Like she would ever need help with homework, she thought savagely.

"It'll have to wait. I'm in the middle of something." said Ron in an indifferent voice, darting his eyes ahead. Hermione turned to look around at the girl as if she had just seen her for the first time. Now she knew why this girl stood out in the crowd. She had the coldest gray eyes that looked somewhat inhuman to Hermione, and there was an ivory smoothness glowing on her flawless skin, giving her the appearance of a shining dove. The feature that offended Hermione the most was her thick black hair that curled up into spirals, resting on her shoulders and giving off a scent of rose that even Hermione could smell from where she was standing. Hermione felt as though this was a comparison to her, both having natural curly hair, but she could clearly see that the girl in front of her was winning that battle.

She took note of Hermione's stare but didn't comment on it. Instead, she held out her hand, "Hello, you must be Hermione."

Hermione reluctantly shook hands with her and sat down next to Ron, who gave the girl a warning look.

"And you are?" said Hermione coolly.

"Serenity Bywater." She said serenely. Hearing this, Hermione secretly wished she would drown in the water or even by the water.

"Do you mind, Hermione? We were discussing something private." said Ron frostily.

Hermione felt like she'd been slapped. She could feel the color rising in her cheeks. Private, huh? The only private thing should be between her and Ron, and nobody else. And _if he's talking so privately with this girl, why is he going out with me?_

"That's okay, you can talk in front of me," said Hermione confidently, hiding her hurt feelings, "I am your girlfriend, if you seem to remember."

"We'd rather discuss it alone." said Serenity, twirling back her dark hair like a model.

Anger erupted in Hermione's body like an electric shot and she had the sudden urge to yank all of Serenity's hair out.

"Excuse me? Who exactly are you to discuss anything with my boyfriend alone?" said Hermione, disposing her calm voice.

"Hey, calm-" Ron stated, but Serenity interrupted him, "I can be anything or anyone Ron wants me to be. What are you going to do about it?"

Hermione could not believe the nerve of this girl. She was after her Ron? She was never going to let that happen. Not if they broke up. Not even in a million years.

"You disgust me, with your paws all over him like a-"

"At least I don't walk around with a book permanently attached to my hands, you-"

"HEY, HEY!" Ron cut in, and suddenly, both Hermione and Serenity jumped up from the table at the same time and pulled out their wands. They glared at each other with utmost hatred. The Gryffindor students near them were now watching the situation as if it was a drama show.

"You keep your hands off of him or you'll be sorry you ever met me." said Hermione in a dangerous voice.

"Is that a threat?" said Serenity coldly, "You're not as tough as you think, or loyal to your boyfriend, for that matter, and you have no idea who you're dealing with-"

Hermione had made up her mind. Having no realization of her surroundings, she yelled, "_Stupefy_!"

In a whiff, Serenity deflected the spell with a wave of her wand and shouted, "_Aridus!"_

"STOP IT! THIS WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!" Ron bellowed. Serenity briefly glanced at him, and Hermione had her chance. She shrieked, "_Vibro!_"

A brand of white light struck Serenity's body and she twirled violently in the air like a pinwheel and fell hard onto the polished floor. A sudden stream of gasps and cries broke out in Hermione's radius as they stared at the beaten body below them.

"Ha ha, look who's the tough one now." said Hermione, smirking.

"HERMIONE!" Ron screamed, pulling her by the arm, "have you lost your mind?"

"But-" Hermione was cut off by a significant gasp behind her. She swerved around and came in contact with the raging face of Professor McGonagall, "What in the world…?"

She helped Serenity up and then glared fiercely at her. Hermione observed herself and saw that her wand was still pointed up.

"Ms.Granger! How dare you attack a student in the middle of the Great Hall! Deliberately hurting another student when you have the authority of Head Girl! I'm ashamed of you! Thirty points from Gryffindor! A detentioin! Now get out of my sight before I break out on you!"

As Professor McGonagall stormed away with a staggering Serenity beside her, murmurs and whispers formed again and a majority of the students gave Hermione criticizing and angry looks. But Hermione didn't notice this. Detention. She had been given detention for the first time in her life.


	17. It Was Just a Nightmare

Chapter 17 – It Was Just a Nightmare

A tear trailed down her cheek as she stepped outside on the frosted grass of the desolate Hogwarts grounds She sat on one of the benches and breathed heavily, feeling completely dumbfounded. _ What had she done?_

She couldn't believe she'd attacked another person in front of everyone and gotten a detention. She, Hermione Jane Granger, the smartest witch of the year and Head Girl, had deliberately attacked another student in front of everyone…

What was happening to her? She should have been able to control her temper back there…but _she_ was after Ron. Hermione couldn't let that happen, but she guessed that it didn't matter anymore. It was over. He had left her for another girl, and even if he came back to explain she wouldn't listen to him. As she thought this, more tears fell down and chilled her cheek, due to the bitter-cold atmosphere.

After a few minutes, Hermione looked up and perceived a figure with fiery hair coming out of the castle and following her tracks. She wiped her eyes hastily.

Ron settled himself next to her and she turned the other way immediately.

"I think I've gotten two cracked people in my hands now." said Ron sarcastically.

"What do you want? Shouldn't you be somewhere else discussing private matters with your pretty little girlfriend?" snapped Hermione.

"I am." He replied, reaching out his arm and turning her face towards him, "It was only a test."

"A-what?"

"A test, to see how jealous you would get when you saw me talking to Serenity. There's nothing going on between us. She just agreed to go along with it."

Hermione gazed at Ron's innocent face. Deep down she knew he was telling the truth but that didn't justify anything. "That's the dumbest thing ever! You can't play with me like that! I'm not your doll! Just go away and leave me alone! I got a detention because of you!"

"Me?" said Ron, pointing to himself, "You're the one who attacked her! How was I supposed to know you would take it that far? Even I didn't curse your precious friend Malfoy-"

So that's what this was all about. Ron had tried to get back at her for being partners with Draco.

"Who's stupid idea was it, anyways?" she barked.

"It was a brilliant idea," said Ron, smiling, "Now I know how crazy you can get over me." He laughed, and when she glared at him, he continued, "Ginny told me to do it yesterday. She said it would work perfectly."

"Ginny!" she wailed, "How dare she-"

"It worked, and you should've seen yourself. You were so furious. I guess we're even now."

"We are NOT even. I wasn't the one who was flirting with Draco-"

"YOU skipped me and went to work with him! Did you ever think about how that would make me feel? Why else would you-"

Hermione covered his mouth, "Just shut up for a minute."

Ron looked furious at her impudence, but she didn't take much notice of it. However, she did realize that she must have really hurt Ron when she'd deserted him like that. She at least had to apologize for that.

"Look, Ron, I know why you were mad at me, but I personally invited Draco to the DA meeting, and it wouldn't be fair of me if I just left him there alone. I had to work with him. It wasn't like I was choosing him over you. You need to know that you're the only one I care about. Do you understand?" said Hermione.

"I suppose so." said Ron uncertainly.

_Good_, she thought silently, _because I was going to break up with you if you didn't._

"I'm sorry for what happened back there…I guess it was stupid, but it seemed like a good idea before. _And what came over you?_ Attacking that poor girl was very unlike you." said Ron, wiping her tears away.

"I can't believe I got a detention!" Hermione stroked her arms in frustration.

Again, Ron giggled, "Welcome to the other side."

She observed him. Despite his annoying personality and jealous nature, she couldn't resist him. Hermione felt her negative emotions melting away.

"So are we okay now?" he said, glancing at her.

She hugged him as a response.

"Ron?" Hermione spoke.

"Yeah?"

"If I fail my Ancient Runes test, I'm going to kill you."

…

The next couple of weeks went by in a flash. Hermione was on much better terms with Ron now, but she still watched what she said and did around him. She hardly had any free time to do anything because of her regular duties, the piling amount of homework which kept on increasing day by day, DA meetings held twice a week, and her Animagi classes once a week.

The Animagi classes weren't going as well as she had expected. She didn't master the lesson's concepts in the first or second try like she was used to; for example, in one of the practical lessons, she had to transfigure herself into a chair and the only advantage was that she was allowed to use a wand. Out of the fear of staying an old wooden chair for the rest of her life, she made incompetent efforts to perform the Transfiguration. It took her a surprising whole two-hour lesson to do it right, and being a chair had given her the most peculiar feeling ever. They had done human Transfiguration in normal class, but they had never transformed into such big objects.

To her astonishment, her detention had been very similar to her usual Head duties, except that it was in a place that she hadn't been in for the past four years. She had to clean all of the unusual objects in Trelawney's classroom, and Hermione was so relieved to see that she wasn't there at the time. It would be very awkward to see a teacher you'd walked out on because she was a fraud, and then three years later find out that she was capable of making a true prophecy.

The night was late when Hermione returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, and saw that Ginny and Ron were still up.

"Hey, guys," said Hermione, as she got comfy on her chair, "have you ever noticed that we're always the last ones in here?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," said Ron, eating Chocolate Frogs, "I just stayed up to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"Do you prefer dark, milk, or white chocolate?"

_What a random question_, "White chocolate, but why?" inquired Hermione.

"You'll find out soon enough," said Ron, getting up and kissing her, "Goodnight."

"Wait-" Hermione protested, but Ginny interrupted, "Oh, let him go. It's for a good cause."

"Meaning?"

"Are you stuck in some other time warp? Valentine's Day is coming up, so he's probably going to sneak up to Hogsmeade tomorrow with Harry to get some gifts," said Ginny, helping herself to some Hot Tamales. Her face didn't show any different when she chewed the spicy candy.

Hermione watched her in amazement, "I forgot about that, but they shouldn't break the rules! Ron is a Prefect! He should know better!"

"Chill, Hermione. They're getting gifts, not mugging stores."

"Whatever, it' still the same thing, and anyways, I think it's a dumb holiday. Guys have a day to be 'extra' romantic when it should be every day."

Ginny raised an eye, "Very negative attitude. Ron has something very special planned for you."

She felt herself smile, "Really? What is it?"

"I can't tell you!" Ginny snorted, "You'll find out soon enough."

While wondering what Ron's surprise would be, Ginny said, "You know, I'm surprised my sweet brother hasn't already gone to extreme lengths to prove his love-"

"What do you mean?"

"You know…" said Ginny in a secretive way.

Hermione stared at her densely, and Ginny rolled her eyes, "I didn't know I would have to give lessons. When a girl and a guy love each other so much they express their emotions intimately-"

"Never mind, I got it." Hermione cut in. Ginny cackled.

"How do you know that Ron-me-haven't-?" said Hermione, trying to find the right words.

"It's obvious, and plus, I know my brother." said Ginny.

"You mean you have-"

"Of course."

Hermione stayed as mute as a mime. She had never discussed the subject of sex with Ron and that kind of thing wouldn't just pop up in a conversation…it would just happen naturally, or so she thought. But was she ready for that step? As she looked at Ginny in wonder, she thought how amazing it was that two people could be intimate with each other without knowing if they were the 'one' or not. Hermione knew that her heart said that Ron was the 'one' for her, but she still had her doubts. Could they actually stay together for a long time…or forever? Couples broke up everyday; what if they broke up as well? Maybe Ron would join forces with the dove-faced girl Serenity or some other bimbo that would make him forget about her…

Ginny proved to be smarter than Hermione thought to be, "Don't doubt him, or yourself. Just because your parents split up doesn't mean it'll happen to you."

"Really?" said Hermione hopefully.

"Really."

"Really?"

"Yes! Really!" scowled Ginny, throwing a book at her. Hermione caught it.

"I actually wanted to ask you something." said Ginny.

Hermione waited for her to elaborate.

"Do you think Harry…"

"Likes you?" she finished Ginny's sentence, "I don't know…maybe. He's never actually said if he likes you or doesn't like you in front of me." Hermione had the impression that Ginny was the kind of girl who couldn't live without a man in her life.

"You want me to ask him?" Hermione went on.

"Yes."

"All right, I will." said Hermione, but hoped that Harry didn't for Ginny's sake. Harry wasn't exactly the most romantic and tactful person right now and she didn't want Ginny to get hurt.

Yawning, Hermione said good night to Ginny and scrambled up the spiral staircase to her dormitory and opened the door to their quiet room, where Parvati and Lavender were in deep slumber.

She changed into her nightwear and popped in bed and closed her eyes. No thoughts entered her head tonight because she was extremely sleepy, and she felt herself drifting off into a doze.

Hermione didn't know where or when, but an image materialized in front of her.

It was dark. It was so dark that Hermione had almost convinced herself to be blind. She had no idea where she was, but felt a sign of danger a full three hundred sixty degrees around. A foul smell lingered in the air heavily like a sewer and Hermione thought that that was where she was. But suddenly, a stream of brilliant white light struck her, but instead of making contact, it went right through her and lighted up her surroundings.

She was standing in an enclosed gloomy-painted room that could have been the exact replication of half the Gryffindor Common Room, but with no doors or windows. Hermione wondered how she'd gotten in here.

A signified gasp made her jump and she turned to see a sweating young man situated in front of her. He had a wand in one hand and a small white disfigured object like a crystal in the other, glowing dazzlingly on the edges.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, but Harry did not take any notice of her. He was glaring ahead past her with fury, and Hermione rotated in fear. In the light stood a tall sallow-skinned wizard robed with an overgrown black cloak, staring in her direction with catlike red eyes burning fiercely with flame. Perhaps Hermione would have had more time to sink in the face that she was facing the one and only Lord Voldemort, but the next few things happened so fast that she thought she'd been placed in a fast forwarding time with her being the only slow thing.

Voldemort vanished in a zip and then half a second later reappeared right behind Harry. Harry swerved around and immediately, Voldemort screamed a spell and Harry flew across the room and hit the wall with a deafening crash.

Hermione gasped. She ran to him and made an effort to help him up, but her hands went right through him like a ghost's would. Harry's face distorted in intense pain and Voldemort's deadly voice rang out in the room, "Give me the crystal. _Now_."

Harry was on his feet now, and to Hermione's astonishment, he laughed recklessly, "Or what? You'll kill me? You can't kill me without this."

Voldemort's snakelike face twitched with a half-smile, "Maybe not, but I can kill _him_."

At first, she didn't know who he was referring to, but when she looked in the direction Voldemort was devouring at, her heart gave a deadly leap. In a corner, Ron was sprawled on the floor with blood gushing out of his knee, watching dazedly at the whole scene. He didn't have his wand.

"Give it to me, or your friend dies." Voldemort whispered dangerously and then made hissing and spitting sounds. A black poisonous snake slithered out of his cloak, making Hermione's eyes widen. It slid towards Ron and took position to attack.

"No." Hermione uttered, desperately hoping they would hear and see her and even kill her instead. She stroked her pajamas violently, but there was no wand there.

"Don't give it to him, Harry-" said Ron weakly, paying no attention to the venomous snake in front of him, "He'll kill you."

"Give me the crystal!" Voldemort snarled.

"If you die, you know what'll happen!" said Ron, more strongly this time.

_Give him the crystal, give him the crystal_, Hermione chanted inside her head. _Give it to him, give it to him…_

Harry looked from Ron to Voldemort, still in pain, and held out his hand hesitantly.

Voldemort gave a truly evil grin, "Fools. _Accio Crys_-"

"NO!" Ron bellowed and blasted forward with all his might and snatched the crystal from Harry's hand and then instantly fell to the ground.

Hermione froze on the spot, not moving an inch. However, she did have enough strength to yell, "DO SOMETHING HARRY!"

It was almost as if Harry had heard her. He Disapparated into thin air but Voldemort was too quick for him, who had done the same a second ahead of him and appeared right beside the beaten-up Ron. Harry reappeared and Voldemort screamed, "_Petrificus Totalus_!" The spell hit Harry square on the chest and he froze as stiff as a board, clattering onto the floor.

"HARRY! RON!" Hermione screamed in terror, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What a waste." said Voldemort, with a pretend concerned look on his face. With his wand, he rounded on Ron and shrieked, "_AVADA KEDAVRA_!"

"ROOOOON!" Green light hit Ron with full force. The little strength that was left in him faltered as he perished flat down.

"NOOOOOOO!"

…

Hermione's eyes opened. A gloomy silhouette of a four-poster bed faced her and beside her were the worried faces of Parvati and Lavender.

"Oh, thank god, finally you're awake," Lavender sighed, "you must have had a hell of a nightmare because you scared the shit out of us."

"A nightmare…" Hermione said, finding tears on her cheeks.

"Yeah, you were screaming so loud I thought you would wake up the whole castle."

Hermione stared at them but not really realizing they were there. She felt as if she was still back in that place…but there was not dark room here, no Voldemort, no Harry, no Ron…Ron!

She bolted up instantly as if lightning had struck her and leaped out of her bed. Parvati and Lavender jumped.

"Where are you going?" exclaimed Lavender, as she grabbed her wand from the desk and opened the door.

"I just had the worst dream…I think something terrible has happened to Ron…"

Parvati and Lavender exchanged surprised looks, and Parvati said, "How do you know?"

"I just saw him die!" Hermione spat out.

"What do you-"

"In my dream!" and without another word, she stormed out of the room and heard Parvati yell after her, "It was just a nightmare!"

No, it wasn't. A horrible feeling inside her body told her it wasn't. It had felt so real, like she had been there before or was going to be there…She had to make sure Ron was safe and if that meant going to the boys' dormitory in the middle of the night, then so be it. She just had to make sure Ron was safe and sound in his room, not sprawled lifelessly somewhere in the world.

As she passed the Gryffindor Common Room along her way, a thought occurred to her. What if they weren't there? Maybe something had happened in the middle of the night and they'd left the castle…but they couldn't call her because they weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory.

With this thought piercing her heart, she ran up the staircase and opened the door to the designated room. It was completely black with no sound or motion taking place. Thankfully, no one stirred awake because of her abrupt entrance.

Hermione kneeled down to Ron's bed in complete darkness and muttered, "_Lumos_." She expected to find Ron's peaceful face shining in the yellow light, but it wasn't. Ron wasn't there.


	18. Love At Last

Chapter 18 – Love, At Last

A burning feeling in her chest rose by the second as Hermione stared at the bed endlessly. Another tear dripped down and landed on the floor. He wasn't here…where was he? Was he…

"Hermione?" said a voice next to her. Thinking it was Ron, she turned to look at him and cry out in joy, but it wasn't. Harry was lying there on his bed with an astounded look on his face.

"Where's Ron?" cried Hermione, not attempting to keep her voice down.

Harry's eyes trailed to Ron's bed and then back to Hermione's weeping face, "Oh no…"

"Harry, I just had the most horrible nightmare and-"

"Voldemort killed Ron?" Harry finished for her, making Hermione's eyes widen, and he went on, "I had the same one just now…but why did we have the same dream?"

"Who cares? Come on, get up, we have to find him." Hermione grabbed his arm and hastily pulled him up.

"He was here when we went to sleep. Why would he just take off in the middle of the night? And where are we going? The Forbidden Forest?"

"If that's where I saw it." Hermione said, walking ahead but her eyes fixed on Harry. She walked down the dark hallway and suddenly crashed into someone, making her descend backwards, but the person grasped her arm instantly and pulled her up. She was staring at a figure with flame-hot hair.

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, absolutely shocked and then a second later, relieved. She clung to him like a magnet and wetted his nightshirt with her tears. She was so glad that he was all right…she didn't think she could ever survive if Ron died…

"Hermione…what are you doing here?" said Ron softly, but surprise was all over his face as he looked at Harry and stroked his head questioningly.

"Er-we had the same dream-"

Looking at Hermione's head on his shoulder, he said fearfully, "What happened? Was it Voldem-" He gasped.

"-Ort," finished Harry, "Would you give up the You-Know-Who nonsense?"

"Oh, all right-Vol…de…mort."

Hermione sobbed louder at the name, making Ron look worryingly at her but not objecting her crying that had made his shirt look like it had just been washed.

"Yeah, we had a dream about him." said Harry.

"If it was a dream, then why is she crying?" said Ron uncomfortable to Harry.

"Because you…you…died in it!" Hermione moaned.

"Oh…well, it was just a dream, that's it. I'm still here, see?" he said, looking even more flustered than before, "You have to go back to your dorm before you get in trouble, go."

"No, I'm staying here." She said forcefully, holding a tighter grip on his shirt.

"Hermione! I'm fine! Look, I just went to the bathroom, that's all! You need to go back to bed."

"All right…but don't go anywhere." She muttered, finally letting go of him, "Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

With one last look at them, she walked back to her own room. Even though Ron was there, she was still worried. Hermione wished she could bring the both of them to the Common Room and watch them for the rest of the night. Her dream had NOT been a dream. It was rather a premonition, a vision from a past life, or something of the sort…she was almost positive. How she'd had it was the real question…Maybe because of her personal connection with Ron, she'd seen something that was to possibly happen in the future…but that didn't explain her previous dreams about the Forbidden Forest. And what was more was that Harry shared her dream as well. What were the chances of that?

Another thing that crept into her head was that this dream was so much different than the one she'd had months ago…the one where afterwards, Dobby the house elf had awoken her. In that one, she hadn't been at the place, she had just been watching over it, and in this one, she was there when it happened….

Hermione collapsed into her own bed. There was no way she could go back to sleep now, so she just lay in bed the whole night, thinking and dreading…

…

The morning of Valentine's Day blossomed into warmth and revival, ending the bitter cold weather that Hermione had been getting so tired of. They were scheduled to go to Hogsmeade today and for once she wouldn't have to put on three layers of clothing and walk around feeling like she was ten pounds heavier.

Hermione still didn't have a present for Ron; she never got a chance to get it and she certainly wasn't going to sneak up to Hogsmeade like Ron. The last thing she wanted was another detention from Professor McGonagall. She figured she would get him a Quidditch broom or something of the sort since he was crazy about Quidditch, but she didn't want to get it in front of him; this would be almost impossible since they would be together the whole time. It also wouldn't be different from any other day because ever since Hermione had had that nightmare about two weeks ago, she felt like she was spending the last days with Ron, constantly watching him, kissing and hugging him, and never letting him out of her sight. Ron didn't seem to mind, especially when she would just start making out with him anywhere and everywhere, no matter who was watching. Basically, she was living life to the fullest like an normal teenager would, not paying much attention to her homework and her N.E.W.T's, which were coming up soon.

A while ago, she had planned that she would start studying for them in January or so, but she still hadn't started. Getting worried about her carelessness, she promised herself to start right after Valentine's Day, when there wouldn't be any more holidays or events to distract her. Hermione hoped that she would have enough time to study between all of her activities, and if she didn't, then she would have to drop a few DA lessons, because she certainly couldn't miss any of her Animagi ones. She needed all the help she could get in those and recently had begun to regret that she'd chosen to become an Animagus, but she couldn't change her mind now. Right now, they were on the lesson of vanishing oneself and this was another concept that frightened her. What if she stayed invisible forever?

On the other hand, the DA meetings were going better than the first one, mainly because Hermione wasn't partnering up with Draco anymore. He had been smart enough to bring someone with him to the second meeting, which was Pansy Parkinson, and the way they were standing closely together, Hermione could tell that they were dating. She had no idea what Draco saw in her but didn't say anything to cause any more problems. One thing she noticed during the recent meetings was that Snape was paying special attention to Harry, who was working with Neville, and would correct him many times when he was doing something incorrectly. Harry called this criticizing and pestering but she was happy that Harry was getting trained properly, and guessed that Dumbledore must have told Snape to help Harry.

Today, she called Ginny into her room to pick out an outfit and Ginny chose one that her young Aunt Ella had given her for Christmas. After she put it on, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror and smiled slightly. Stuck tightly to her skin was a pure polyester white sleeveless shirt that went down past her hips and it had a diagonal neckline and rhinestones bordered it, swaying to her right breast, where an elegant white rose was placed. Matching it was a ruffled pink skirt that came a little above her knees. The best part of the outfit was that the material was so comfortable and soft, even if the fancy shirt was tight.

Ginny chose some dangling star-shaped silver earrings and matching bracelet for her and she put it on, but left her neck bare. Her short hair didn't seem to match her clothes, so she took her wand, pointed it at her hair and twirled it, making her hair curl into spirals. While Ginny was zipping up the shirt in the back, she craned her neck over to watch in amazement.

After Ginny put a dab of rosy lipstick on her, Hermione helped her get dressed. She went for something more reserved since it was her first date with Harry, and at the end, Ginny wore a short jeans skirt and a full-sleeved red shirt.

As Ginny combed her hair, Hermione nervously looked at her clothes and then Ginny's and said, "Maybe I should take my sweater."

"Nah, leave it. You look pretty." she replied, glancing at Hermione's reflection in the mirror.

"Yep," said another voice behind Hermione, "You planning to seduce Ron in that?"

It was Parvati. "Oh, shut up. It's only a one day thing."

Parvati giggled. A few minutes later, after Ginny was done getting ready, they went to the Great Hall.

"Wow." said Ron, admiring her from top to bottom, "You look beoutious."

Hermione giggled and sat down closely next to him. Ron was dressed in Muggle clothes as well, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and jeans.

"Beoutious? That's not a real word, Ron."

"I know, I made it up, but that's how you look, so…"

"Er-you look pretty." said Harry nervously to Ginny, who pronounced a thanks and also took a seat next to him, ignoring his nervousness.

Ron grinned, "So, where're you two planning to go?"

Harry shrugged, "Dunno, Ginny can choose, I suppose."

Hermione wanted to hit him for not being more cheerful, but instead she concocted up an idea, "Why don't you two come with us? We can double date!"

Ron produced a look of disapproval and Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, smirking.

"I think I'd prefer not to spend the whole day watching you two snog each other nonstop." said Ginny.

"I second that." said Harry, finally looking somewhat happier.

"Fine, then." said Hermione, her cheeks turning red, "It was just a suggestion." Personally, she didn't want them to go with her and Ron, but it would make Harry more comfortable and wouldn't say senseless things. And as for Ginny, Hermione knew she would pounce on Harry if he didn't object.

After they finished their breakfast, the four of them headed out to the grounds, but when Tonks spotted them, who had been standing near the doors, she called them over.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you three to go to Hogsmeade." she whispered.

"But it's Valentine's Day, Tonks!" protested Ron, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Shh! But what of your stalker?"

"We haven't seen him-or her-for months," said Hermione truthfully, "they probably got scared off when you searched the grounds."

"The forest and the castle is watch at all times now…I suppose I could send extra teachers along to watch you." said Tonks, coming to a compromise.

The four of them looked at her incredulously.

"I mean-watch out for any danger." she said uncomfortably. They expressed their gratitude and then went ahead, laughing.

"Can you imagine Snape watching ups kissing and holing hands? He would rather turn his back and let us get cursed." said Ron.

They strolled slowly to Hogsmeade in the fair weather, talking and laughing, and then finally reached the front street of Hogsmeade.

"Well, we're here. Let's go, Hermione." said Ron.

"Have fun." Hermione grinned at Ginny, and then they went their separate ways.

"So, where to first?" asked Ron as they walked.

"Oh, I dunno…erm…how bout the Broom Room?" The Broom Room was a new store filled with Quidditch brooms and supplies.

Ron looked at her strangely, "But why?"

There was no way she could get a gift without him knowing, "I still have to buy something for you, and I didn't prefer your way of sneaking out of the castle."

"Hey! How did you know about that?"

"Ginny told me. How about this, I go in there and get you a gift and you get some Butterbeers and something to eat and then we can sit by that old lake and just…talk." She smirked.

"You don't have to get me anything. Really." said Ron, meeting her eyes.

"But I want to, so just go and get those drinks and meet me at the lake." She kissed him and then walked into the Broom Room. Every broom you could think of was displayed on the walls, and Hermione decided to get Ron one since he was still flying his Cleansweep. There were two hundred Galleons in her purse, meaning that she could buy about any broom except for the Firebolt, of course.

She finally decided on the new Nimbus 2002 that had come out last year and gave some Galleons to the cashier and exited the shop.

It didn't take much time to walk to the lake and she hoped no one was there already. When she reached it, she saw that it was completely desolate. This place was on the south end of Hogsmeade, right behind the new broom store and the Hog's Head. Scattered maple trees surrounded the small lake except for a spot across from Hermione was standing that was bare and treeless. They had found it last year and it would be the perfect spot for them to spend the afternoon.

While waiting for Ron, Hermione sat down on the grass near the lake, took off her sandals and dipped her feet in the cool water. It was at that time when Ron came with a paper bag in his hand.

"Sorry I took so long, the line was huge." He said, sitting next to her.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said, giving him a kiss, and pulled out the broom from beside her, "here you go. Happy Valentine's Day."

Ron stared openmouthed at the package, "You got me a broom?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd need a new one if you wanna beat Slytherin."

He was about to say thanks but then put up an offended face, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Relax! I didn't mean it that way!"

"All right," said Ron, softening his expression, "but seriously, you didn't have to get me anything."

"Just shut up and take it." said Hermione, smiling at him.

Ron nodded, "But not now. I don't have your gift on me right now."

"I'll send it back to the castle then." Holding her wand, she brandished it in a circular motion without uttering a sound and the package zoomed away.

Ron gaped at her, "Bloody hell. How did you do that without saying the spell?"

"Oh…I dunno, for some easy spells I just move my wand and think about the spell and it happens. Lots of people can do it."

"Yeah, but only teachers. Wow…you're the most amazing person I've ever known."

Hermione chuckled, "And you're the sweetest and cutest," she pinched his cheek, "person I've ever known."

She felt like she was a little girl with a silly crush on a boy, and she gave him a playful fish kiss on his lips and pulled away shortly. Ron laughed and rounded in on her and they kissed passionately. For how long, Hermione didn't know, but what she did know was that she never wanted to let go.

The scorching sun settled high in the sky when they let go of each other.

"I think we broke our old record," Ron smirked, "isn't it astounding how people can kiss so long without losing their breath?"

"Mmhmm…isn't it beautiful here?" she said, resting her head on his legs and looking outwards to the pacified lake.

"You make it look even more beautiful." He said sweetly, playing with her hair.

"Ron! Stop being so romantic for once! I was being serious."

"So was I. It's the truth; you do make it look more beoutious."

"If you say so," she said, "I love this place…it's so peaceful, and I love Hogwarts. It's hard to believe we're only going to be here for a few more months."

"Yeah…and I'll miss you so much."

Hermione sat upright, "but we'll be seeing each other, right? You agreed to sepnd a few weeks at my house before I go to France."

"Of course, but I'll miss you after that."

"I'll Apparate to you ever day." said Hermione, resting her body down again.

"So will I. Just don't go off and find another boyfriend in France."

"How could you say such a thing!" she reprimanded, "You're my only man."

"Herminoe…" Ron spoke with a voice Hermione had never heard before, and she thought she knew what was coming.

"Hmm?"

"I know I've never said this before…but I love you."

These three words were like a remedy to Hermione, soothing her all over. No guy had ever said that to her before, and she was glad that Ron was first one.

"I know."

"You know?" said Ron, taken aback.

"Yeah, how could I not? You've always cared for me and helped and…just been there fore me. I feel like…I can't part from you, ever…not even after Hogwarts, because I love you too."

…

"Where are we going? This isn't the way to the Great Hall. You got amnesia?"

Ron scowled, "No! And how would you know? You're blindfolded!"

"It doesn't take this long to walk there. I'm blindfolded, not dumb. So where-?"

"It's a surprise, so just keep walking with me."

"Whatever you say," said Hermione, patting her blindfold, "just make sure I don't crash into anything."

They walked and walked, and along the way, Hermione's stomach grumbled. It was dinnertime and instead of eating dinner, Ron was taking her to his surprise. She wanted to see it so badly that she did not object, but had admonished a look of astonishment when Ron told her this. He would never skip dinner.

After what seemed ages to Hermione, Ron came to a stop and a door opened, or so she guessed.

He ushered her in and finally took off her blindfold.

"Oh, Ron, it's wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. She was standing in a mini ballroom filled with red, pink, and white heart shaped balloons with short strings floating in midair and glimmering sparks falling to the ground continuously. A banner with a border of real roses was posted on the white wall across from her that read: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY HERMIONE! in bright gold letters that fluttered animatedly. A small square dance floor cornered that wall and on the other side of the room was an elegant style dining table covered with silky pink table cloth, topped fully with delicious food.

"I made the banner, got the roses and the balloons, did the table, but Harry helped me bewitch those sparkles…and the rest…well…"

"We're in the Room of Requirement, aren't we?"

"Yep. You're not mad, are you?"

"Why would I be mad? Oh my god, I love it Ron!" she jumped up and down ecstatically and almost knocked Ron down with a humungous hug. She didn't care if they got in trouble or not, because what she was surrounded by was just wonderful. She'd never felt more special in her life.

"What first?" said Ron, grinning, "Shall we dance, eat, or can I give you my present first?"

"Present? I thought this was your present!" she said, strolling on the red carpet and stepping on to the wooden polished dance floor.

"Nope. Since you look so overwhelmed, I think I wanna add more to that." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a rectangular box and handed it to her. She looked at him.

"Open it." He told her.

She removed the cover curiously and inside was a stunning diamond necklace with a big heart shaped pendant that shined in the light.

"Wow…" surprisingly, she went from the jumpy excited state back to her calm and serious self, "How did you-"

"Afford this?" Ron chortled, "I got it during vacation. That's the reason for the cheap Christmas gift, but I'd rather not go into detail. Do you like it?"

Hermione nodded. She wanted to hand it back and tell him that he shouldn't have gotten something so expensive, but her mouth condemned her to say it as she gazed at the necklace.

"I love it."

Ron gave a sigh of relief and motioned her towards the circular table. He's certainly back to his old self, she thought with a smile.

Hermione and Ron had their dinner and talked and laughed with no worry of anything else. Hermione knew it was past ten o' clock, the curfew that seventh years had to be out of their common rooms, but she didn't care. She had never felt more carefree in her life. She had never loved Ron more than right now, if that was possible, and it wasn't because of the necklace or the room; it was because Ron had shown her that he would do anything to make her happy.

After they finished eating, Ron conjured up a box from under the table and revealed round vanilla chocolate pieces when he opened it.

"Aha." Hermione commented sweetly as Ron fed her some of it. The chocolate spread warmth in her body all over like Butterbeer and she felt a strange but comfortable feeling take her over.

"Mmmm…come on, let's dance." suggested Hermione, choosing to burn off her full stomach.

"Hold on." said Ron, closing his eyes in concentration, and Hermione guessed he was trying to make the room play music. She was right, because a second later, a slow tune played in the room although she was confused from where the sound was coming from.

Once they were on the dance floor, Ron put his hands at her hips like she'd told hi before and she curled her arms around his neck. They swayed to the music, each watching the other endlessly. She stared at him so intensely that Ron chuckled. The woman's voice in the song was soothing and the music was romantic, making Hermione feel like she was on a cloud.

"What is this music?" she said softly, looking admiringly at Ron.

"Ginny listens to it. I think her name is Celestina…"

But Hermione didn't catch the rest of Ron's words because she cut him off and kissed him passionately. They stopped moving to the music and stood there in the middle of the dance floor, all over each other like heavily attracted magnets. Ron's lips brushed against her neck cravingly, giving her a strange tingling feeling, and she laid her hands on his back. Hermione could feel the music zooming away as Ron's hands traveled to her back and he started unzipping her shirt. She didn't stop him; she couldn't object to anything right now, especially not to being as close as possible to Ron.


	19. The Dark Mark

Chapter 19

The Dark Mark

"What are the three key ingredients in the Hair Coloring Potion?" Ron read unenthusiastically from the book in his lap and brushed his face with a feather quill.

"Mint astringent, red syrup, and purified water. I said hard questions! What kind of girl wouldn't know that!" snapped Hermione.

"I'm trying!" retorted Ron, "For your level, there are no hard questions, you get them all right!"

"Sorry…my head hurts," she said apologetically, and then turned to Harry, who was lying on the couch with his eyes closed, "Okay, Harry. What's the purpose of a Shuntwehl Charm?"

"Hmm…it shuns and twirls objects?" he said, with his eyes still shut. Ron sniggered, but Hermione did not find it amusing.

"Would you get up and get serious! You have to study or you'll fail!" she scolded him.

"No, I won't. I have it all planned out. George promised to owl me some of their teacher-proof Recall Remedies. It's supposed to make you remember everything that's ever entered your head about that subject when it's exam time."

"Harry! You can't take that rubbish and break the rules! You'll get caught!"

"Look who's talking! You spent the whole night in a forbidden room with Ron and you're telling me not to break rules?"

"Harry, shh!" groaned Hermione, flustered by his recklessness. She highly regretted that Ron had let Harry in on his surprise present, because when Ron hadn't returned to his dormitory that night, Harry had figured it out. Hermione was pretty sure Parvati and Lavender knew too, since she and Ron had overslept until eight o' clock.

Two months had passed after that day, and she was acting a bit strange near Ron. Well, she wouldn't call it strange, but how she would have been acting around him in the beginning of the school year when she didn't start making out with him anywhere and everywhere. Kissing was one thing, but having sex was completely different. It was like they were married.

"Why are you making us study now? N.E.W.Ts are ages away!" complained Ron, shutting his book.

"A month is hardly ages away, Ron. Do you realize we have to cover everything we've ever learned in the past seven years?"

Harry rolled his eyes, and at that moment, Ginny appeared into view, looking furious. Her hair was drenched wet, coated with a color of puke green, but to Hermione's amazement, her skin was perfectly dry.

"What happened to you?" said Ron, laughing.

"Peeves! He threw a bucket of green slime on me! I can't get it out of my hair! I swear, the next time I see that wretched poltergeist again-"

"I know what's wrong. Come here." said Hermione calmly. Ginny sat down across from Hermione and swooped her slimy hair forward.

"_Tergeo!_" Ginny's hair went back to its ruby color and she touched it with her hands happily.

"Thanks a bunch! So what's up?" she said, budging Harry so he would make more space on the couch, and assembled down next to him.

"Hermione's training us for the ultimate test of our lifetimes." said Harry sourly, taking the book off his lap and straightening up, "And as for me, a very SHORT lifetime."

"What are you on about?" asked Hermione, wondering where that sentence had come from.

"Voldemort, Death Eaters, and all of the excitement revolving my dangerous but exhilarating life. I'll be surprised if I even make it to the N.E.W.Ts. Something always happens during this time of the year, and you know it will this year too."

"Don't talk like that," commanded Hermione, "nothing is going to happen to you. The castle is guarded and the forest is guarded, so no one will be able to get to you or that Crystal and try to kill you."

"Death Eaters can do anything," said Harry seriously, "they could kill all the guards and then lure me there and kill me."

"Lighten up, mate, you have a lot of time to worry about that later." said Ron reassuringly.

"And besides, they can't kill you. You're practically immortal." Hermione pointed out.

"Come again?" said Ginny, joining the conversation, and amazed at what Hermione had just said.

"She didn't know. Good job, Hermione." said Ron tartly. He gave her a cross look.

"I don't know what? Tell me!" Ginny whined.

"I'm not saying it…it's too painful to even think about it." said Hermione, "Harry can do that."

"Yeah…" agreed Ron.

"All right." said Hermione, as she turned to Ron, "Back to our little studying game."

"'Mione! I think that's more than enough for tonight. Listen to me: N.E.W.Ts are exactly…46 days away. That's one and a half months."

"Fine. But don't come crying to me later for seven years worth of History of Magic notes." snarled Hermione, and buried her face in her notes. She repeated the sentences about the different Charms inside her head and cast criticizing looks to Ron and Harry, who were now playing Gobblestones. Apparently, it looked like Harry hadn't told Ginny about the prophecy yet, and wondered if he was ever going to. Ginny had gotten out a comb and was brushing her hair feverishly.

Ron gave loud shouts of triumph and Harry cackled like a madman. Hermione thought that they had finally grown up, but obviously she was wrong. She rolled her eyes and got to her feet.

"I'll be studying in my room. Good night everyone." Hermione ascended up the stairs and went in her room. She turned the lamp on with a flick of her wand and settled on the bed.

Hermione wanted to curse herself for putting off her studying for so long. Now that she observed all the material she had to study, she wished she still had her Time Turner so she could go back in time and do two or maybe even three things at once. For two hours, she studied parts of her Charms and Transfiguration notes, two of her easiest subjects. When her severe headache reached its limit, she shut the books and turned off the light. Lying flat on the bed, she stared off into the black ceiling.

Sleep intoxicated her right away and she felt herself traveling through a series of dreams. Professor McGonagall, dressed in a shocking pink swimsuit, told her that she had failed all of her N.E.W.Ts and was heading off to Yugoslavia for a swimming competition. Later, Ron appeared and struck Hermione violently with his broomstick and said that Ginny had dared him to do it or she would use the Bat-Bogey Hex on him.

Hermione rolled her body to the other side, trying to return to a peaceful sleep, but instead, she found herself visioning another dream. It was once again in the Forbidden Forest, between the thick trees and a heavily moist atmosphere, but she wasn't the one in it. Hermione was looking down below at the scene, in where a black hooded figure was striding with a quick pace in a dug-in tunnel about ten feet below ground, crouching his head carefully as he walked. The narrow path seemed to continue forever, and in midway, the figure stopped unexpectedly. The layer of dirt above his head shook slightly, as if someone was walking above ground, and parts of it sprinkled on top of the person's hood. He stood there for a moment and held his breath, not daring to make a single sound, and then suddenly, he sneezed.

To Hermione's astonishment, the noise above ground ceased. The figure went on. She eagerly watched and was dying to know what he was going to reach. The Death Eater walked until he reached the end of the tunnel and came to an abrupt stop. Nothing happened for a few seconds. He touched the soggy dirt wall and then out of nowhere, a primeval door unveiled itself in front of him, causing him to retrieve his hand as if it had been struck with a lightning bolt. GRYFFINDOR was written on the top of the door with a symbol of a lion underneath, and below that was SLYTHERIN, followed by the image of a serpent. The figure reached out his hand to touch it, and just at the wrong time, the image in Hermione's eyes dissolved slowly.

Her eyes opened. Hermione looked to her left and right and saw that she had returned to her room. She was wide awake now, feeling like she had gulped down two hundred cups of coffee. Her body toppled off the bed in a flash.

Someone was trying to break in that room where the Crystal of Invincibility was! She had to tell Dumbledore. As she pulled a cloak over herself and headed out the room armed, she stopped abruptly. How did she know that a Death Eater was actually attempting to break in? None of her other dreams had come true, so this could have been a dream after all…

Hermione didn't have prophetic visions like Harry, or did she? All of the previous ones of Ron and the Forbidden Forest were enough to make her keep going down the gloomy corridor.

What if the Death Eater got inside and stole that Crystal. It would basically be the end of the world. _But he can't get into it that easily, it would be ridiculous. _The teachers must have it guarded like they did with the Sorcerer's Stone years ago. To put that Crystal so close to Hogwarts was the most risky thing ever, and she didn't know what Dumbledore must have been thinking when he put it there. It was an invitation for danger.

Hermione rushed past the common room and headed to the Fat Lady's portrait, and was about to walk out when she heard a voice behind her, "Whoa, whoa, where are you going?"

A messy-haired Harry approached the portrait and looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Wait-you had the same vision thing, didn't you?" said Hermione, coming into realization.

"If you mean a hooded Death Eater underground, then yeah."

"Let's go! We have to tell Dumbledore!" she pushed open the portrait and rushed down the stairs.

"Hold it!" Harry commanded her, and she obeyed, "What?"

"How do you know it was real? It could have been-"

"Harry, we had the same dream at the same time. Don't you think that's a little coincidental?" she explained to him as calmly as she could.

"You're right. Let's go." He said, and followed her down the stairs. She lighted her wand and saw they were now in the rear end of the third corridor.

"What if Filch sees us?" said Harry in an intimidating voice.

"That's better, then. He'll take us to a teacher anyway, but I doubt they're awake."

Harry began to open his mouth to say something but instead, he shrieked in pain.

"Harry! Shhh!" She put a finger to her lips, but that did not help, since she could still hear Harry groaning. She turned to him and saw him clutching his scar.

Hermione's eyes widened.

"No, no…not again…Harry, snap out of it!" she said dominatingly, and gently slapped his face back and forth. It worked. He snapped out of it and released his hands and looked at her.

"You okay?" inquired Hermione, a bit apprehensive of Harry.

"Yeah…I'm fine…"

"What in the devil was that about?"

"I dunno…"

Hermione glanced at him worryingly as they strolled ahead. _Well, at least he didn't go ballistic and attack me this time. _

"What makes you think Dumbledore will be awake at this hour?" Harry spoke, coming back to their prior subject.

"He's always awake." said Hermione, thinking about last year when she had barged in Dumbledore's office at three in the morning and he had been chatting with the portraits. Hermione wondered if he ever slept. Ten minutes had passed and she desperately hoped that the Death Eater hadn't gotten in.

They reached the stone gargoyle and stood there dumbly. Realization hit Hermione; they didn't know the password.

"Er-Caramel Toffee?" Harry guessed, but the stone gargoyle didn't budge. "Uh…Hermione, think candy."

"Erm-okay-Chocolate Frog, Cockroach Cluster, Lemon Drop, Craving Candy, Hot Tamale, Bertie's-" She cut off her random listing of candies because the stone gargoyle moved aside and the door opened. Stepping off the mobile staircase were Dumbledore and Snape, looking grave as they talked and stepped off the stairs.

They stopped. Dumbledore didn't seem the least bit surprised at the sight of them, but Snape snarled, "Potter! Granger! Out of bed? Det-"

"Severus." said Dumbledore, holding up his hand, "Calm down. I'm sure Harry and Hermione have a perfectly good explanation for roaming about the castle at this time."

"Yes, we think someone's trying to break into that secret room and get the Crystal-" Hermione said in one breath but Dumbledore held up his hand again and silenced her.

"What you have seen in your dreams is accurate. More members of the Order were sent to the forest, but the culprit escaped. Unfortunately, that is not the only bad event that has taken place tonight."

They looked questioningly at him.

"Two of the members of the Order are dead, and the Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban."

Harry and Hermione faced each other, horrified at what they had just heard. Hermione prayed to go that it wasn't anyone she knew. She was just about to ask them who was dead, but Snape spoke, "You two are to go to bed right now, and don't leave your dormitories for any reason."

"But-" Harry protested, however, this time Dumbeldore agreed with Snape, "Professor Snape is right, you must go back to your dormitories. It is too dangerous, and for all we know, they could be coming here."

…

Nothing of the sort happened. The next morning, Hermione, Ron, and Harry sat at their House table, anxiously waiting for her _Daily Prophet_ to arrive. They desperately wanted to know who had died, but Hermione wasn't as worried as them. If they were Ron's family, Lupin, or anyone else that they were close to, she was sure that Dumbledore would have told them.

Time seemed to have slowed down considerably as the three of them sat there, fiddling their thumbs and not touching their breakfast.

The owls finally came fluttering inside, carrying certain boxes and newspapers, and Hermione extended her hands to catch the _Daily Prophet_ from the usual tiny chestnut owl that came everyday.

She smoothed it out on the table, and a bold headline on the top of the paper stood out:

**MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN:**

**MISTRESS OF MAGIC TAKES ACTION**

_The Ministry of Magic announced early this morning that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban, a situation most similar from two years ago when six You-Know-Who's supporters escaped Azkaban but were prosecuted once again three months later. _

_The Mistress of Magic, Amelia Bones, quotes: "We advise the magical community to remain calm and we assure everyone that You-Know-Who's supporters will find their way back to Azkaban soon."_

_The top Aurors have been sent out for search and if anyone sees one of these specified wizards below, please inform the Ministry at once…_

There was more, but Hermione's eyes trailed down to the bottom of the newspaper. First in line of the pictures was Antonio Doholov, the Death Eater who had cursed her unconscious. Hermione could recall that day so perfectly…the dark atmosphere cornering her and becoming more dangerous as twelve Death Eaters surrounded her…a tall figure in a black hood who knocked her down with a swishing purple flick…she'd fainted after that and then the next thing she had visualized had been the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. Because of him, she had to spend almost a month there.

The next one was Lucius Malfoy, a sleek blond-haired man with malevolent gray eyes, and Hermione could see that Azkaban had sucked the life out of him; there were dark bags under his eyes and his bones stand out, appearing as if he hadn't eaten in months. Draco's resemblance of him was more striking than before, and this thought made her wonder if Draco knew about his father's escape yet. She turned to examine the Slytherin table far away and saw him reading something intensely. _So he knows_.

"Hey! I was still reading that!" grunted Ron, as Hermione turned to the next page.

"Hold on…I want to see if there's anything in here about the Order first." she said distractedly. She was now scanning the third page but there was nothing about any deaths or anything else that was unusual, only some rubbish about the Quidditch match of Tornados against Cannons.

"Nothing," she said after she was done searching, "Nothing about the Or-people or deaths."

"Should we do some investigating-spying?" whispered Ron.

"No!" said Hermione disapprovingly, "Just leave it to me. I'll find out who it was."

…

"Ms.Granger, would you please pay attention to what you're doing and stop staring at my desk as if it were Mr.Weasley!" snapped Professor McGonagall. Hermione jumped and quickly set her eyes back to the parchment in her hand. She was in the middle of her Animagi lesson and was supposed to read some procedures of turning a person's appearance by wand and then was to perform it successfully. Hermione wished she was a Metamorphagus like Tonks.

Those untitled books had attracted her attention. They were STILL sitting on the left side of her teacher's desk after so many months. This proved that they were significant and Hermione wanted a look at them.

"Sorry, Professor." she mumbled, and wondered why McGonagall had left the books out so openly if she didn't want Hermione to see them, "May I ask a question?"

"Yes?" she said, facing the other way.

"I wanted to know-well, Professor Dumbeldore didn't get the chance to tell us-who were the two Order members that died?"

Her teacher faced her with a dead serious expression, "Mundungus Fletcher and Emmeline Vance, but you didn't hear it from me."

_Oh no…Mundungus…_Even though she hadn't known him that well or that long, warm tears still clouded her eyes. The death of any person in the world would make her grieve, especially if they were killed by the hands of evil.

"I'm heading to the Library for something. Stay here and finish looking over that," said Professor McGonagall strictly, "_and don't touch anything_."

Hermione nodded and McGonagall was gone in a flash. A moment later, she put the parchment down and stuck her head out the door to check if McGonagall was truly gone. She was. Hermione went to the desk and reached her hand out to open the book, but stopped. She couldn't risk McGonagall walking in on her and catching her. She hesitated.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She could duplicate the books and put one copy in her bag. Aiming the wand at the books, she mumbled, "_Duplico_!" and heard a thud in her bag.

Professor McGonagall didn't return for five minutes, and during that time, Hermione acted like a good girl and studied her material. With a swish of a cloak at the door, her teacher appeared with more scrolls of parchment clutched to her hands.

Thankfully, the lesson ended a few minutes after; it had been as boring as a typical History of Magic class. Ron and Harry might think she liked listening to lectures and taking notes, but that was definitely was not the case. One of her mottos in life was 'knowledge is power' and from where she was sanding in the knowledge department, she could overpower almost any student. She had to take those notes and listen attentively in order to learn.

Unfortunately, she had Head Girl duties to get to right away and as her stomach pained with hunger, she wondered when she would get to eat. Today, Hermione had to go to the dungeons for the third time in a row and grade papers. _Snape must really be slacking off_, she thought, but then again, he was in charge of the DA, taught Harry Occlumency, and was a member of the Order…

No one was in Snape's classroom when she entered it and she took a seat in her regular spot in the front. When she entered it, she took a seat in her regular spot in the front. When Hermione unrolled the first parchment, she saw that she was dealing with first years' work with short answer questions.

As she was tiredly reading an answer about the Befuddlement Potion, Draco came in, playing with the Golden Snitch.

"Draco!" complained. He gave her an innocent look, "What?"

Hermione opened her mouth to yell at him, but closed it. She had just partly stolen some books, after all.

"Never mind."

Draco shrugged his shoulders and then let the Snitch loose from his palm. It elevated and twirled past him. He went after it and caught it triumphantly.

"Are you going to keep playing with that or help me?" She pointed to the stack of papers on her desk.

"Whatever you say." he drawled and finally sat down. The Snitch fluttered its wings around the room.

Hermione gave Draco a calculated look and guessed that he was happy that his father escaped. She didn't know whether to contradict his feelings or accept them. She would be happy if her Dad had gotten out of jail, wouldn't she?

"I take it you know about the breakout?" he said casually, dipping his quill in the ink pot.

"Erm-yeah" said Hermione, directing her eyes toward her parchment.

"The Ministry raided our whole house this morning…took everything for examination…Like Dad would be dull enough to go back there." said Draco sardonically.

A rush of sympathy ran through Hermione. She couldn't imagine having all of her treasures and possessions taken to look at. Well, her diary should give her an idea.

"Oh, I'm sorry…what about your mother? Are they questioning her?"

"No. It doesn't really matter because she doesn't know anything anyway."

"Do you?" said Hermione without thinking, wanting to take it back. She didn't want to put Draco in an awkward position.

Draco gave her a hard stare, "As difficult as it is to believe, no."

By the look in his eyes, she could tell that he was lying. However, there was another question Hermione was craving to ask, but it would be going too far.

Draco smiled gloomily and said, "Go ahead. I know you're dying to ask me."

Hermione was surprised; was he a Legilimens? Well, if he was giving her a chance, she might as well ask.

"Are you a…?"

Draco peered past the flying Snitch to the door to check that no one was there, then said, "Don't tell Potty or even your lover boy Weasley, although they can surely guess it."

"Don't say that-" Hermione started, but shut up. Draco was taking off his cloak.

"What are you doing." marveled Hermione, pushing her chair back.

"Don't get so excited. I'm wearing clothes underneath. I want to show you something." He threw off his cloak to reveal a short-sleeved black shirt and jeans. He pulled up his right sleeve.

Hermione gazed in horror at the Dark Mark pasted on his upper arm. It was in the shape of a coiled serpent and was a color of fading gray. So this confirmed it. Draco was a Death Eater.

"See, it's fading." Draco rubbed it softly with his fingers but the Dark Mark stayed there. He was right…the mark should have been darker than that from what she had read in the books.

"It keeps on getting lighter by the day. I figured you would know why."

Hermione didn't know for a fact, but she had a general idea why, "Maybe…your humanity is increasing, so the mark is fading…?"

Draco stared at her incredulously, "Is that even possible?"

"Which part?' she asked. Did Draco actually refuse to believe that his humanity could increase?

"Both."

"Yes…I think it is," confirmed Hermione, "Draco, you should tell Snape."

"Are you nuts? He'd probably turn me in Azkaban!"

"No he wouldn't…he was once a Death Eater, after all, he should know exactly how and why that mark fades away."

Draco gazed at her in amazement, "How did you know Snape was a Death Eater?"

"This is Hermione you're talking to. I've known since fourth year. I still think you should tell Snape."

"And have the Dark Lord slaughter me in pieces? I don't think so. He'll kill me anyway, if he sees this." Draco put a finger on his arm.

"Then tell Dumbledore-"

He laughed, "That's worse. I told you because I trust you. Don't tell anyone. If you find anything else about it, tell me. Deal?"

He held out his hand, and Hermione shook it. In flight of all these deaths and breakouts, she was happy that Draco had proved to have some good left in side of him, and now it was blossoming like flowers.


	20. Misfortune

Chapter 20 – Misfortune

On their favorite couch by the fireplace, Hermione was cuddled up in Ron's arms like a cute little dog being caressed by its owner. His body felt warm and rejuvenating under hers; she never wanted to break apart from him.

Unfortunately, there was a downside to this quixotic scene. So much homework had been laid upon them that there was no time left to be gushy. One of her last assignments was to read three chapters out of their Defense Against the Dark Arts book that Tonks had assigned. She had said that the Defense Against the Dark Arts part of the N.E.W.T's would be mostly practical, and therefore decided to give us a written test beforehand, which turned out to be tomorrow.

Hermione finished reading the last lines on the page they were on and said, "Done this page, Ronnie?"

"I was done an hour ago, _Hermy_, when I told you I'd read it tomorrow morning. And besides, why in the name of Merlin are you reading it when you've already read the whole book a million times?"

"What ever happened to your academic attitude in the beginning of the year?" said Hermione.

"It dropped when I fell in love with you." He kissed her neck passionately and Hermione, who couldn't indulge herself to studying anymore, dropped the book and turned her body to face him. She sucked on Ron's lips with hunger. His hand traveled down to her chest but Hermione pulled it away.

"Uh, hello… public place?" Hermione commented, casting a look across the Common Room.

"You didn't care before." Ron tightened his arms around her.

"That was different. We were only kissing then."

"We're only _kissing_ now." Ron shifted her forward with a soft touch and dived his hand down to snatch the book on the floor. He inserted it into her schoolbag.

While Ron did this, Hermione's eyes scanned the common room and rested on Harry and Ginny. Both of them were sitting Indian-style on the floor with their faces as close as possible. Hermione giggled. Her two friends were staring at each other nonstop as if there was no tomorrow.

Ron followed Hermione's gaze, "What?"

"Look at Harry and Ginny." Their eyes were still locked as tight as wire, and from what she could tell, they hadn't blinked even once, "Gin's going to drive him insane."

Ron's face showed disapproval as he observed them,

"Uh…shouldn't that be the other way around?"

"True."

"I'll go snap them back to reality." Ron heaved his body forward but Hermione pushed it back down.

"Don't spoil the fun! I wonder who'll win this little staring contest."

"Ginny." said Ron.

Hermione frowned, "What do you have against Harry?"

"Nothing!"

"Come on, Ron. Ever since they started going together you've been acting really cold towards him." Hermione sat up straight, "Don't be so overprotective. This isn't Dean or Michael; it's Harry. And anyways, they're only having a staring contest, not engaging in sex."

Ron raised an eye at Harry and Ginny and still looked unconvinced by Hermione's words.

She turned to him, "I bet I can beat you."

"In. Your. Dreams." he said in a competitive voice and gazed at her. Hermione did the same, peering into Ron's gleaming eyes partly covered by his bright red hair, without blinking even once. After a half a minute or so, Ron spoke, "I…can't…resist…you…" He struck her neck and she struggled with him playfully, laughing along the way. Suddenly, a pain charged through her neck.

"Ouch!" she squealed, touching the part of her lower neck, "What are you? A vampire?"

He made a fang-like noise that annoyed Hermione even more. She pounced on him and dug her teeth into his skin.

"Oy!"

Hermione retrieved herself, laughing into hysterics, "You're such a wimp."

"That hurt. Really really really bad." He groaned sarcastically, trying to look at the fresh red bruise on his neck, but was unsuccessful.

"Aww…poor Ronnie. Here, let me make it better for you." She reached out to him but he repulsed. Hermione gave him a will-you-trust me look and he relaxed. From there on, she brushed her lips against his neck softly and went up to his ear, nibbling it playfully. He tasted highly luscious and yummy.

"Mmm…I love you." said Ron, as if he was in a royal fantasy world.

"You too, sweetie." she breathed in between her ear nibbling, and without a warning, he backed his head.

Hermione opened her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Say it." he said seriously, folding his arms.

"Say what?"

"Say you love me."

"I just did."

"No. My ears heard 'you too'."

It was at that moment when Hermione realized that she had never told Ron that she loved him. It was not intentional and she had easily dismissed it. Ron was always the one who told her he loved her first, and she just simply said 'you too'. Hopefully, Ron hadn't taken this the other way, and from the look on his face at the time, he partly had. Those three words had such permanence to them, that once you articulated them, they could never be taken back.

_I don't want to take them back_. She wasn't a professional on the concept of love, but her definition of it was simple. Whenever she was near Ron, she encountered a rushing feeling, either positive or negative, that stayed inside her for long periods of time. She never wanted to part with him. This was love. It had to be love.

Hermione looked at Ron's surprised and almost furious face.

"I…love you. Happy?"

…

The Hogwarts library was practically a second home to Hermione. Whenever she entered it, she was drawn to the countless numbers of books just like a person addicted to alcohol. When she took a trip to the library the next afternoon, she dragged Harry along to keep his butt of a broom and make his brain pour into the books like it had never been before. She wanted to take Ron too, but he had been summoned by Snape to clean up the mess he had caused from a potion early in the morning.

Hermione wanted Harry to become an Auror, and for that, just scanning all the study material would not cut it. If he found success in his education, then maybe that could drive him to other accomplishments.

And as for her, she wanted to do something that contributed to the next magical generation of witches and wizards. Magic had given her so much to learn and live for, that she wanted to distribute part of that knowledge as a teacher.

A great amount of students were in the library because it was only two weeks left until N.E.W.T's. They took seats at one of the tables by the windows overlooking the Quidditch field. Harry stared out of it and then gave Hermione a dirty look. She set her parchment down and took out a quill to underline important parts of her notes.

"So…things with Ginny all right?" said Hermione after a few minutes, flickering her quill and reading her History of Magic notes about the Goblin Rebellion.

"Yeah, great." He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes.

"This isn't a Sleeping Hall!" Hermione snapped, "You have got to study!"

Harry's droopy eyes opened and rolled fully towards the ceiling, "Have you thought about getting some therapy?"

She glared at him.

"Fine, fine, I'll study, even though I should be playing Quidditch right now. If we lose against Slytherin, it'll be your fault."

"You _really_ need to stop blaming me for everything that goes on in your life. And is that all you care about? Quidditch?"

"Yeah." said Harry in an obvious expression.

"How will Quidditch help you after you get out of here?"

"How do you know if I'll even make it out of 'here' alive?"

"Because I just do." she said confidently.

"Whatever…er-you have your Transfiguration book with you?"

"Yeah, it's in there." She pointed to her bag. Harry grabbed it, and with great force, pulled it towards him, "Damn, what do you have in here? An elephant?"

Hermione closed her ears. She herself had been exhausted from carrying that much because it had put so much weight on her shoulders that they had slouched down, giving her the appearance of a person whose shoulders had been struck by a ninety pound barbell.

As Harry rummaged through her bag, he pulled out an odd book and frowned, "What's this?"

Hermione's head rose to get a glimpse of a moldy non-titled book. She immediately snatched it from him, "Oh my gosh!"

Harry looked questioningly at her, and Hermione spoke, "They're McGonagall's. I stole them," Harry's eyes widened and she whispered, "I didn't actually steal them. I just duplicated them and put the books in my bag, but I forgot because of-"

Harry motioned his hand, "Because of…?"

"Oh, nothing. I just forgot." she lied, not meeting his eyes. She wasn't supposed to tell anyone about Draco's secret. Harry still wasn't convinced, so to avoid any further questions, she opened the book to the first page, only to reveal a smell of dry dust and sour lime. In bold old-fashioned letters, the title _Godric Gryffindor_ was written on the top of the page. It then occurred to Hermione that Professor McGonagall must have taken out these books so she or Harry or Ron wouldn't get a hold of them…but then why would she place them on her desk fully opened to Hermione? Maybe she actually wanted Hermione to take them…

"Grab the other one." she commanded Harry.

While he examined the other book, Hermione flipped through the pages of her own and somewhere in the back, she spotted the world _Crystal_.

"Here's something." Harry pushed his chair closer to hers and peered at the page:

_...In addition to being a founder of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Godric Gryffindor is also one of the makers of the Crystal of Invincibility. It is a powerful object that is capable of causing total annihilation or destroying anything that its light touches. Additionally, it possesses the power to resurrect the dead, undo transformations, and destroy any weapon in this world. The Crystal was made shortly after a prophecy that foretold the coming of power of the darkest wizard, who would be able to decimate all things (This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled because no known wizard has taken this kind of power). In effect, Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin developed a crystal during their years of friendship and inserted their blood and ultimate knowledge in it. Whenever these two wizards needed help, they could extract its power to use it against the prophesized wizard. However, it would malfunction if used against each other due to the mixture of their blood in the Crystal._

"'_No known wizard has taken this kind of power_?'" quoted Harry, half laughing, "Then who is Voldemort? My study buddy?"

"I think this book is before his time."

"And what do they mean when they say it 'malfunctions'?"

She didn't have to think about it that hard. She could easily correlate that to something else, "It's like your scar. When Voldemort tried to kill you when you were a baby, his spell malfunctioned and he ended up being cursed instead. That's almost the same thing as the Crystal."

Harry looked at her in disbelief, "You don't mean… wait a minute…I'm a descendant of Gryffindor…?"

"Yes. I think you are." She rested her eyes back onto the book. The idea of Harry being an ancestor of Gryffindor was so bizarre, but on the other hand, it made perfect sense.

She scanned the pages of the book, briefly pausing to recite some phrases, "…_was considered to be the most powerful wizard of the time…_well, obviously he would be…hmmm…_was never able to find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and unveil the monster within_…you found it so that explains it…nothing. Nothing about any other weapon or object that can be used to destroy powerful wizards," she went back to the page of the Crystal and reread it, "Maybe if we go ask-"

"Hermione, can you shut the hell up before I stab you in the face with this quill?" said Harry in irritation, holding up a rather thick quill. Normally, she would have retorted furiously, but she was too absorbed in reading.

"…_also possesses the power to resurrect the dead, undo transformations, and destroy any weapon in the world..._"

"What did you say?" Harry's eyes widened.

"I was reading this."

He grabbed the book from her and skimmed through the lines and looked at her, "In the second year…Dumbledore said that Voldemort went through so many transformations that he wasn't recognizable as Tom Riddle anymore." recalled Harry.

"Yeah, so?" said Hermione, not knowing what Harry was talking about.

"_It has the power to undo transformations."_

_"_Oh…I see." said Hermione, feeling slightly dumb.

"So I'll untransform him…and then kill him."

"Easier said than done. How exactly are you planning to kill him? You can't use the Avada Kedavra curse."

"Why not?"

"One, because you'll get thrown into Azkaban for it, and two, I doubt if that would work on him. It didn't even work on you when you were a baby. And three, you can't technically kill each other since both Slytherin and Gryffindor's blood is in you and Voldemort. If you want to kill him, then you'll probably have to separate his body from Tom Riddle's body with the Crystal thing and then destroy the Crystal after undoing his transformations and after that…we'll figure out something." said Hermione.

"Right." said Harry sardonically, "This is the most bizarre thing I've ever heard. Use some Crystal on him to separate his body into two and then destroy the most powerful object the world has ever seen and then somehow figure out a way to kill him. The next thing these books will say is to dance around Voldemort in a circle six times until he drops dead."

"It sounds logical enough." she said, tilting her head.

"So you want me to dance silly around Voldemort?"

"No!" she screeched, "I meant the other plan."

"Uh-huh. Well, we should just get this over with. I think I'll just go to the forest tomorrow."

"WHAT?"

"Shh!" Madam Pince scowled from her desk, and Hermione turned to give her an apologetic look.

"The sooner I get this over with, the better. If he dies sooner, then no one else will have to die."

"And what if you die…?" she breathed, not even wanting to consider that possibility.

"Then I'll die…It doesn't matter to me if I live or die." he said in a tone that she had never heard before.

"Don't say that, Harry." breathed Hermione.

"Why not? It's not like I'm living this life for a purpose. All I am is the marked boy who has a slight chance of defeating Voldemort. No personal, educational, or any other type of purpose."

It was amazing. For the first time, Harry was projecting his built up anger through words, not violence.

"You do have purpose!" said Hermione forcefully.

"Like what? My Mum and Dad are dead, Sirius is dead, and my aunt and uncle hate me-"

"You live for your future, for me, for Ron, for Ginny-"

"That doesn't count. You know what I mean?" he said in gloom.

Hermione nodded. Harry had no living parents or the closest person to it. She couldn't imagine life without her parents, who had given her everything. They were the source of her intelligence, dedication to learn, and her free will (most of the time). She felt the feelings about her parents' divorce fly away slightly.

An awkward silence lingered between them. Hermione had nothing else to say to make him feel better. She had never felt so sorry for him. Then, a light clicked in her head, remembering the beginning of this depressed conversation.

"Oh, and you're not going anywhere tomorrow. Promise you won't." she commanded him.

Harry sighed, "I won't. I don't think I'd have the guts to go anyway."

"Yes you would." She said, raising her eyes to him. Their past experiences had been proof enough that he could do about anything.

Harry put his head down on the table, shielding his face from her.

"What did I say before? This is NOT a Sleep Hall." Hermione forced him up. She wished she hadn't. Tears were streaming down his eyes. Hermione whirled around to see if anyone was watching and they weren't (she knew that Harry would be embarrassed).

Not knowing what to say, she took off his glasses and wiped off his tears. Harry had seventeen years of pain stored inside him, and finally it was coming out.

"It's okay, Harry. Don't be embarrassed." she said reassuringly, now clearing a tear of her own. Harry faced her and she pointed to her tears, "See? We can both cry together."

His lips elevated on the sides, "It's just so…unfair…of all the people in the world, why did this have to happen to me?"

"Because you're the only one who can handle it." she replied.

"Having a bloody scar on my head's cost me everything…If I could just take it back…"

"You can't do that. You have to believe that you were the right one to be chosen to do something this significant."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one everyone's counting on."

"You're right. I'm counting on you, and I have complete confidence that you can win this battle against Voldemort."

…

As Ron lead her to his dormitory, Hermione forced her throbbing feet to move forward.

"Could you walk any slower?" said Ron, shaking his head.

"You try spending half your day chasing Peeves around the school and then come back and tell me how your feet feel." retorted Hermione.

"Why were you chasing him?"

"Harry and I were walking out of the library and Peeves stole my study notes!"

Ron rolled his eyes, "So what? You could have gotten them from me."

Hermione snorted, "I'd rather commit suicide."

Ron appeared offended, but just held on to her hand and kept on walking.

In the process of strolling down the corridors, she spotted scraps of parchment in the corner.

"How hard is it to throw something in the trash when it's RIGHT THERE?" she fumed and kneeled down to pick it up. Her left leg slanted and put full pressure on her foot. Something cracked. Red pain sprinted down her body and she cried, "OWWW!"

Ron dashed to her side, "What's wrong?"

Hermione fell down and placed a hand on her foot, "A bone cracked."

"From walking?" said Ron doubtfully, bending down, "Here."

She let him touch it, and he moved it around in a circular motion. She whimpered in pain again.

"Show some spine, Hermz." said Ron, still in the process of setting it back. Unexpectedly, he pushed it against her leg and let go. She moved it around. It didn't hurt anymore.

She sighed with relief and grabbed on to Ron's hand, which pulled her up, "Thanks!"

"We're almost there. I think I'll just-"

She shrieked in surprise as Ron picked her up. Carrying her carefully, he continued walking to their destination. Hermione faced Ron closely and smiled, surrounding his neck with her arms. She felt like a new bride.

"Am I heavy?"

Ron chortled, "Never! What's your weight? Twenty pounds?"

She made a laughing sound and said, "I'm not anorexic."

"Thankfully."

"So, where's Harry?"

"I have no idea." said Ron.

"Ginny's missing too, so that pretty much sums up everything." said Hermione simply.

Ron scowled, "I'm gonna have to talk to them."

"Don't they make such a cute couple?"

"No," he said flat out, but then revised his tone, "but I guess it's better than all of the other idiots that Ginny's dated."

If he was irked with the idea of Ginny dating Harry, she couldn't imagine how he would react if she told him that Ginny wasn't a virgin. "It's good to hear that Harry isn't an idiot."

"You are."

She kissed him, "Only over you."

Ron went up the stairs and articulated the password to the Fat Lady. They stepped inside the desolate room with red-orange torches flaming around the room. It seemed that everyone was still at dinner

"Hmmm…you're a human taxi," Hermione spoke, as Ron climbed the staircase to the boys' dormitory, "Give me a lift tomorrow?"

"As you wish." Ron gave him a peck on the lips but Hermione pulled him and kissed him, obstructing his view.

"Whoa, whoa! You want me to fall too?" Ron staggered.

"That would be nice." she replied sweetly and tried to kiss him again. This time Ron didn't jump back and they were off the stairs. Ron took her across the corridor in a zig-zag motion, both laughing and kissing along the way.

Ron twisted the doorknob to his dorm room and it creaked open. He took one step forward and stopped dead, looking flabbergasted. Hermione, who had been too busy focusing her attention on Ron, didn't know what was wrong. Out of the blue, Ron's arms released her and she slammed onto the floor. White hot pain charged through her like she had been hit with a giant basketball.

"RON, WHAT THE-" Hermione yelled, but shut up at Ron's dumbstruck look past her. She turned to observe Ron's subject and her mouth fell open. She covered her eyes instantly and blasted to her feet, "Ohhhhh…let's go." Grabbing a handful of Ron's robes, she led him down to the Common Room without either of them uttering a word. Hermione knew exactly what was going to happen next, and it wasn't going to be the happiest sight.

Ron and Hermione stood near the stairs for a second and predictable, more footsteps swooshed down in their direction.

"Ron…Ron! I'm sorry for what you saw…back there," stuttered Harry as he came down with Ginny to where they were standing. _Fully clothed, thank god, _Hermione thought

"How could you!" Ron bellowed, striking his finger dangerously, "Keep your hands off my sister!"

Ginny raised her hand in offence, "Shut up, Ron. You have absolutely no right to say that to Harry. It's none of your business-"

"Yes it is! I'm your brother!"

Hermione stood between the three of them, playing mediator, "Calm down, guys-"

"Just because you're my brother does NOT mean that you can tell me what to do!"

"Oh yeah?" said Ron, glaring viciously at Harry, "Watch me! From now on, stay away from her for your own good!"

Harry, who had lost the apologetic tone very quickly, cackled madly, "Look who's talking? Do I tell you to keep your hands off of her?" He spat, glaring towards Hermione.

"That's different! Ginny's my little sister-"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her! I'm your best friend! Why don't you trust me!" yelled Harry.

"You two, sit down over here and-" Hermione got cut off again as Ron cried out, "I think we saw enough proof up there. Never touch her again or-"

"Or what?" said Harry, striking Ron with an icy stare, "You'll fight me?"

Ron impulsively plunged into his robes, but Hermione already had her wand out, "Oh no, I don't think so! _Accio wands_!"

Both Harry and Ron's wands flew in midair and Hermione caught them.

"So you're taking his side?" Ron hissed at her. He was totally out of it, and Hermione didn't know what else to do except stay calm and try to make them stabilized as well.

"I'm not taking-"

"Of course she is!" Harry interrupted. She felt enraged for being cut off every single time she spoke, but he continued, "I'm right and you're wrong! She's way smarter and saner than you. She knows who's gone mental!"

"WOULD SOMEONE LET ME TALK!" Hermione screamed in frustration. All their mouths zipped.

"Both of you just sit over there and take a time out. Don't say or do anything you'll regret later on."

"I think _he _should be the one with regrets." said Ron in a vile voice, still standing.

Harry, who was now situated on a chair in front of them, seemed a bit calmer, "I love her. There's nothing wrong with that." Ginny blushed the color of her hair at this sentence.

"Love? What would you know about love?" said Ron.

"Probably more than you. What makes you such an expert on it?"

"I do know how to treat a girl right."

"And you suppose I don't?"

"You attacked Hermione with the Cruciatus Curse, threw snow in her eyes as if she was your enemy, kicked me off my broomstick in a Quidditch Practice, made Lavender crash over desks…shall I continue?"

"What's your damn point?" Harry leaned forward with impatience.

"I don't want you to wake up one day and attack my sister…and kill her!"

Hermione gasped.

Harry's anger evaporated and sadness replaced it. He got to his feet and took a hold of Ginny, "Come on Ginny, let's get out of here. I cannot believe what I'm hearing. My best friend, who has known me for years, thinks I want to kill everyone. Especially a person that I really care about. Being Harry Potter is my biggest misfortune…my whole life is a misfortune."


	21. The Cat Who Came to Hogwarts

**Chapter 21 – The Cat Who Came to Hogwarts**

It was late afternoon when Hermione made entry in Professor McGonagall's office, showing no interest to a dark-orange owl with vivid red eyes fluttering towards the sky as she walked inside. She wished she could fly away from the school junk haunting her brain and the vulgar Ron/Harry argument that was turning out to be a bigger disturbance to her than them. _It's not an argument, but a war, _she thought, as she ran her smooth fingers over Ron's diamond necklace.

Professor McGonagall departed from her seat, strolled forward, and leaned on her desk slightly to face Hermione. Pushing up her glasses, she said, "I promise this will be a short lesson, Ms.Granger, because I know you have other things to take care of. This is your last lesson."

"Yes!"

Professor McGonagall's eyes twinkled, making Hermione blush at her outburst, "Sorry."

The whole concept of transforming into an animal was stimulating; having done so into a cat in her second year, but there were only so many times a person could transfigure frogs and not lose their excitement.

"You know what to do," her teacher said, "but I will go through the steps one by one, and you follow. Do not be scared. Nothing is going to happen to you. Take deep breaths and stay calm."

The more McGonagall advised Hermione to relax, the more nervous she got. The way she was wording her sentences with caution, it led Hermione to think that this was something to be scared about. Normally, she faced challenges in life head-on and strong, but this wasn't something you could master after the first try.

"Ready?" asked Professor McGonagall, attempting to dispose her usual stern voice.

"Erm…yes." mumbled Hermione, and closed her eyes. Visualization was very important in transforming, and right now it would be very challenging because she didn't know what animal she was going to transform into. An otter, the form of her Patronus, would be the logical choice, but what if she turned out to be a rat? The thought made her puke, and her eyes instinctively flew open.

Studying Hermione's tense figure, McGonagall spoke, "You'll turn into whichever animal suits your personality best. If you apply the skills of transfiguring other objects without the use of your wand, you'll feel your body changing."

"Alright." said Hermione, closing her eyes once again.

"First, clear your mind and let the hollow feeling flow throughout your body…"

Hermione used her meditation technique and pictured a coiled circle in her mind, and at first, other images invaded, but she pushed them back. As a few seconds passed, Hermione felt the tightness inside her head loosen up as a rushing feeling replaced it. Like lightning, it traveled down to her torso and then rushed to her feet, giving them a tingling feeling.

"Now, pretend that you're not human. Picture yourself without your arms, legs…"

As Hermione followed Professor McGonagall's next set of directions, an empty sensation surged from her chest to both of her arms. It was unbelievable. Hermione couldn't feel the weight of her arms or the steady strain on her shoulders anymore. Next, she performed this on her legs.

"Feel yourself shrinking slowly, very slowly…"

_Shrinking? I don't want to shrink._

"You're not doing it, Ms.Granger. Focus."

_How did she know that?_ Ignoring this thought, Hermione took a deep breath and motioned the energy from her neck and her hips to her heart. Her body was withering piece by piece and she freed her mind to let it continue. _Come on, Hermione; you have to get this right,_ she told herself.

"You're doing it…a second more…alright. Open your eyes."

Hermione did as she was told, only to find that she was staring at the hem of her teacher's robes. She leaped back in astonishment, and felt something waving in the back of her body, or whatever she was. Hermione elevated her arm, and gasped. She was looking at a white paw with razor-sharp claws.

"Don't be frightened." said McGonagall, conjuring up an oval mirror, and placed it in front of Hermione.

A medium sized white cat with bits of fur was facing the mirror. Hermione opened her mouth to say "Oh my god" but a pronounced purr came out and her prickly whiskers flourished. She approached the mirror more closely and gazed at her round gray eyes.

"Somehow I knew you would turn into a cat," said Mcgonagall, smiling, "Now I'll teach you to turn back."

…

Hermione couldn't believe how fast the time was flying around her. Her N.E.W.T's were thankfully over and only a month remained until she would have to leave Hogwarts. She was not looking forward to it. So many memories dwelled in this castle, such as making two lifelong friends and growing up from a young girl to a young woman. The unfortunate thing about this departing was that it would be a conflicting one.

Hermione felt like a monkey, or at least a monkey engaging in the game of monkey in the middle. Ron and Harry still weren't speaking to each other, and everyday they made her feel like she had to chose between her friend and her boyfriend. However, Hermione just stayed neutral, not saying anything to either of them. Yes, she had tried to convince them to forgive each other once, but that had failed. Personally, she knew who was in the wrong. The morning after the disaster, Hermione had made an attempt to get through Ron's head, telling him that Ginny was old enough to make her own decisions and liver her own life, but she was unsuccessful. Ron criticized her for always siding with Harry, and that made her angry.

Of course, she was still talking to both of them, but just separately, when the other one wasn't around. She had to watch what she was saying or they would probably stop communicating with her, which she didn't want.

Ginny was not speaking to Ron either, but Hermione wasn't so worried about this. Hey were siblings and would forget about the whole dilemma. She was more concerned about Harry and Ron. The last time they hadn't spoken to each other this long was in their fourth year when Ron had gotten jealous of Harry's over inflated publicity.

Feeling more confident from transforming herself into a cat, she decided that she would bring them back together today. Right now, Hermione was heading to Transfiguration class and when she entered it, she automatically sat next to Parvati. She, Ron, and Harry no longer sat together in any class. Harry would take place next to Neville and Ron would settle beside Seamus and wait for Hermione to join him, but she wouldn't. She didn't want Harry to think that she was taking Ron's side, so she sat next to Parvati or someone else every day. Once class was over, Hermione promised herself that she was going to talk to Ron first. She could have asked Harry first, but this fight wasn't really his fault, and also, he would lose his temper worse than Ron.

When Transfiguration class ended, Hermione got up from her seat and as she left the classroom, she saw Harry storm way ahead of her. When the coast was clear, Hermione put her plan in effect and sneaked up on Ron, who was walking alone, and hugged him warmly from behind. He jumped and turned around in surprise, and raised his eyes, "What? Come to yell at me some more?"

"No. I wanted to say sorry for avoiding you. Forgive me?" she said, looking at him with charming eyes.

"Ahhh…don't give me that look." said Ron, with a flicker of a grin.

"I'll take that as a yes." she said flirtingly and walked with him, hand in hand. Noticing that he was in a good mood, she decided to speak out.

"Ron?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you talk to-"

"No." Ron cut in brusquely, "If that's why you came to me, then forget it. I am not talking to him, and if you keep on bugging me, then I might stop talking to you as well."

Hermione let go of his hand. Not speaking to Harry was one thing, but being cold with her was going too far. What had she done?

_But I'm not going to give up after one try_, she thought, and came straight to the point, "Harry didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yes, he did! You saw them!" he said heatedly, as they turned the corner of the next corridor.

"Oh Ron, they're in love! Just like us! Why are you being so hypocritical?"

"You seem to have forgotten our vacation. When he went ballistic and attacked you? You do realize that he could have killed you, right? I was furious at him, but didn't say anything, thinking he didn't need to deal with me on top of everything else in his life."

"He was under Voldemort's influence, or anger, whatever. That wasn't his fault!" declared Hermione.

"So what? He could have hurt you. It's a good thing you were smart enough to withhold him."

Hermione wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. This was getting her nowhere, "Is there ANYTHING I can say to make you apologize to Harry?"

"Hmm…let me think," he put a finger on his chin, pretending to be in deep thought, "No."

"What about the Quidditch match that's coming up? How are you two going to work together and win if you're not even talking to him?"

"There is no 'working together'. I block the balls, and that's it. It doesn't require communication."

Hermione took a deep breath, trying extremely hard not to yell at Ron, and let it out in a huff. She walked in silence for the rest of the way to her next class, Potions. If no one was worried about this, then maybe she should stop playing mediator.

She thought they wouldn't be doing anything in Potions class since their exams were over, but she was wrong. Snape assigned them a Skin Color Potion, which could change the pigment of a person's skin tone for a certain amount of time after they drank the potion. Hermione partnered up with Dean in the back of the class, and as they put down all of the needed ingredients on their desk and sat down, Draco approached the desk in front of theirs where Pansy Parkinson was sitting. Hermione articulated a "hello" and he gave one back in return. Seeing this, Pansy threw her a nasty look, and Dean muttered under his breath, "What is this world coming to…"

The potion wasn't difficult to make, but it was pretty complicated enough to make after all of their studies were over. During the potion making, Draco would turn around when Pansy was babbling like crazy to observe her and Dean. Hermione caught his stare once and he rolled his eyes toward Pansy. Pansy stopped talking and twirled about to give Hermione another glare, "Why don't you concentrate on your own partner, you bitch."

"Maybe if you shut your mouth for once and stopped boring Draco, then maybe he wouldn't have to turn around and make me lose my _concentration."_

"Shut up!" Pansy's eyes flashed dangerously. She turned to Draco and shoved him to face forward. Draco shifted his hand to his back and made a claw like motion. Hermione understood.

She observed the students, who were chatting animatedly, and Snape, who was arranging some jars on his shelves, and decided that the coast was clear.

"What are you doing?" inquired Dean.

"Just watch." she replied, and transformed into a white cat. Dean recoiled and then marveled at the cat in front of him.

Hermione the cat leaped forward to Draco and Pansy's desk and was about to scratch Pansy, but she jumped and screamed and waved her hand past the glass jars on the desk, causing them to crash down on the floor. White gooze splattered all over and expanded, while the unusual bugs scurried across the classroom. All of the students turned to the back of the classroom at the sound.

Hermione ducked instantly under the desk and went back to human form, now standing straight behind Pansy.

"What was that?" said Snape ferociously, and began to make his way to the end of the classroom. Once there, he perceived the broken jars on the floor in front of Hermione's feet. Her heart jumped with fear as Snape glared at her in turbulence and opened his mouth, "Granger! How dare you make a mess in my classroom! 20 points from Gryffindor and a detention after school to clean this-"

"It wasn't her fault, Professor Snape." someone interrupted Snape. Surprisingly, it was Draco. Hermione stared at him, and she wasn't the only one. The whole class was observing the scene with open mouths, not believing what they were seeing and hearing.

Draco continued, "Yeah. She came to help us with the Potion and I accidentally hit my hand on the jars and they fell."

Hermione could tell that Snape knew Draco was lying, but didn't say anything negative after that. He told her to sit down and help Draco clean the mess up, but she didn't really take any of this in. Ron was staring at her suspiciously, and she knew exactly why.

…

The next day, they headed out to the small village of Hogsmeade. It shined against the scorching sun as Hermione walked on the main road with Ron by her side. It was an extremely humid day, causing sweat to drip down her face and an uncomfortable moistness in her armpits, and it got hotter and hotter as she further moved her body.

Hermione deeply absorbed her surroundings because she knew she would never see them again. It was hard to take in the fact that she would never be able to buy candy in Honeydukes or have a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks with her friends after today. Harry had Ginny were here together, and that lessened Hermione's guilty feeling of partiality.

"Let's go to the Broom Room for a minute," said Ron, swerving to the right, "I need some polish for tomorrow."

She nodded. Tomorrow, of course, was the final Quidditch match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and she knew Ron was determined more than ever to win and beat Slytherin. While walking to the Quidditch shop, they ran into Mason VanCuren, one of the Chasers of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He pulled Ron aside and engaged in deep conversation about the techniques he was going to use tomorrow. Hermione, who was standing next to Ron, sighed and walked away from them for some space. They had Quidditch practice almost everyday; why couldn't they discuss it there?

She gazed past the shop and took notice of the copse of coarse trees staying still as a statue. A minute after, she saw Andrew Kirke exiting the Broom Room, humming to himself, and behind him came out Jack Sloper with a haughty expression on his face. What was this, a Quidditch reunion day?

Hermione averted her eyes suddenly. She could have sworn that she had seen something move in the scattered forest behind the Quidditch shop. She squinted her eyes and confirmed her suspicion. A black figure was limping deeper into the forest in the direction of her and Ron's special place.

_This is my chance_, she thought as she swerved and violently shook Ron's arm, "Ron! Look!"

"Yeah, hold on." he said without facing her, and continued his conversation.

But she couldn't hold on. Instinctively, Hermione sprinted across the off beaten path without checking to see if Ron had noticed her flight.

The figure, now about a hundred feet of her, cricked his neck and paced himself through the forest. Why was he running away? He could have easily captured her. Hermione was dismissive of the fact that she was an alone and unprotected young witch chasing a full grown Death Eater. Hermione didn't know what she was going to do once she caught him, but as she left Hogsmeade behind her, something peculiar about the figure caught her eye. He was limping.

Now only a several feet away from him, she yelled, "Hey! STOP!"

Expectedly, he didn't. Hermione couldn't figure out why he didn't just Disapparate, since they were in Hogsmeade and no spells could block it like it could in Hogwarts.

Even though the Death Eater was limping, he was advancing by the second and Hermione cried out in frustration. Suddenly, a mosquito flew past her and she realized that she was an Animagus. She transformed into a cat and dashed across.

Hermione caught up with the man, who had now reached her and Ron's lake spot, in no time. With all of his weight on one foot, he shambled slower than before and wasn't aware of her behind him. She closed in on his worse leg and dug her claws into his skin. He shrieked and fell flat onto the ground, clutching his leg in pain.

Hermione went back to her human form and stared at the person in front of her. This was it. She was finally going to find out who had been following her all these months.

She lunged forward and pulled his hood off. Hermione stumbled back a step, staring at the face, and totally flabbergasted.

Draco's once pale face was now clad in dirt and fresh blood, with a huge scar gashed on his left cheek and his purple upper forehead bleeding.

She clapped a hand to her mouth, "Oh my god…" She held out her other hand to help him up, and he lurched up, staggering from side to side. As soon as she retrieved her hand, he swayed down like a helpless little child. For the second time, she pulled him up and took a firm grip on his arm, causing Draco to wince in pain.

"Sorry," said Hermione, loosening her grip, "_What in the name of Merlin happened to you?"_

"Nothing, I just…tripped." replied Draco. He coughed roughly and examined the marks on his leg.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "Don't forget who you're talking to. So, it was _you_. You're the one who's been stalking me all these months! I can't believe it! Why? Why did you do it? Who ordered you?"

"No! That was not me…it was-"

"Who?" demanded Hermione.

"Someone else." said Draco, putting his palm on his forehead to stop the bleeding. Hermione felt guilty as she examined his dirty hair and half-bloodied face. This was no time to investigate him. If he was really after her, he would have been doing the attacking, not someone else attacking him.

"We have to get you to the Hospital wing, Draco. You're bleeding like mad." she said seriously, wondering how he was going to walk all the way to the castle.

"No! I can't go there! They'll ask me all sorts of questions, and I can't answer them. You know how suspicious they are of me already."

"Are you planning to tell me?" interrupted Hermione, although she had a good idea about who had hurt him. She conjured up a cloth and pressed it against his forehead.

He squealed, "Ow! Watch it!"

Hermione grinned, "You're such a wimp. So, tell me who did this to you."

Once again, Draco's face distorted, "I can't."

"Fine…" she gave up on that, but as fresh blood leaked out of his forehead, "You really should go to the Hospital Wing. I think your brain's leaking."

"Very funny," said Draco sarcastically, "Don't you know any anti-bleed spells or something? You're like a walking encyclopedia."

"If I knew any, I would use them. And if there were such spells, then there wouldn't be Hospital wings." She moved the cloth to his lower lip and kept it there for a minute to let it absorb all the blood. As she did this, she found Draco gazing at her dreamily. She looked at him suspiciously, "What?"

Draco broke his gaze, "Nothing."

A peculiar silence hovered over them and Hermione began to feel a bit uncomfortable. She thought about Ron and hoped that he wasn't worried about her. Running here like a wild animal was wrong, and she ought to have told him where she was going.

Hermione put her attention back to Draco and said, "Why would they attack you? You didn't do anything."

"Exactly. I didn't do what I was supposed to." he said silently.

"And that was…?" said Hermione, waiting for him to elaborate.

His eyes made contact with hers, "I can't tell you that. I reckon I'd be killed on the spot if I did."

"So what are you saying? They're around here somewhere?"

Draco didn't speak.

"Oh, that's right. You can't answer to that either," she said, getting rid of the red cloth, "Well, now that I ran into you, I want to thank you for vouching for me yesterday."

"Mm…no problem. It was my fault to begin with." he mumbled, and went back to staring at her. She restrained herself from rolling her eyes with difficulty, "For the second time, why are you staring at me?"

As an answer, Draco closed in on her unexpectedly and kissed her lips. Hermione's eyes widened and she backed up immediately. She held up her hand and was ready to slap Draco, but her eyes traveled past him to someone standing a few paces away, leaving her hand right where it was in midair.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her and then turned to the direction of her stare. Ron gave Draco an evil glare and pivoted to storm off in the other direction.

Hermione lowered her hand slowly. Her heartbeat rose by the second and her mind swirled into consternation. What was she doing? _Go after him! _ A thought commanded her.

"Look at what you did!" Hermione spat viciously to Draco, who didn't look nearly as upset as her. She blasted off after Ron.

_What a mess…this is not going to go well…I should have just slapped Draco when I had the chance…at least Ron would have believed that Draco was the one who kissed me, but now…_

"Ron, wait!"

Ron twirled around to face her. She expected him to be furious, but his face wasn't even read and his eyes showed not emotion. Even his docile hair seemed to be cooperating with his feelings.

Hermione waved her hands helplessly, "I'm sorry Ron, but he just kissed me out of nowhere, I didn't know he was going to."

He did not believe her. Of course he didn't. "Looks like the tables have turned. Do you really expect me to buy that?"

"You're calling me a liar? I'm telling the truth! Why would I want to kiss him?" seethed Hermione.

"Then what were you doing there?" _Ron is about to explode. _How was she supposed to convince him that she was telling the truth?

"I saw him in here and I thought it was that Death Eater so I went after him but it actually turned out to be-"

"Am I really supposed to believe that you went after him, just happened to be so close to him, and just happened to be kissing him when I came? AND ESPECIALLY AT OUR SPOT?" he bellowed, spit flying out of his mouth and his callous nature leaving him.

"Ron, you _have_ to trust me. He kissed me, not the other way around. I love you, only you!" Hermione moaned desperately, tears streaming down her face.

"No. I don't trust you. I don't love you anymore." His cold eyes trailed down to her neck where her necklace was placed, and he yanked the necklace with full force. Hermione yelped from the instantaneous sting and grasped her bare neck. Once the necklace was in Ron's hands, he turned abruptly and dissolved out of her sight.


	22. Aftermath

Chapter 22 – Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

The air around Hermione grew tighter, as if half of it had taken off after Ron. She couldn't breathe. Her hands were clamped to her neck like butter on bread, absorbing the pain from inside. Not physical pain, but emotional pain.

Hermione felt the sweat slither down from all over her body, representing a signal telling her that she couldn't stand in the middle of the forest all day. She turned and advanced a step, but that was when she realized that someone was still out there waiting for her.

This thought jolted her. Draco was still by the lake, probably standing there helplessly and waiting for her to return. _But why should I? He's the one responsible for all this._

_But I can't just desert him_, said another faint thought inside her head. No, she couldn't just leave him there alone. She just wasn't that type of person, even if he wasn't her most favorite person in the world right now…

…and the reason for that was the kiss. Why did he kiss her? It wasn't like he liked her in that romantic way; the possible chance for that was one in a billion. Purebloods didn't fall for the so-called "mudbloods". _What if it was a trick?_ What if he had purposely kissed her so Ron would see it? _Well, if that's the case, then I'll just have to kill him for causing this mess._

But something inside of her told her that that wasn't it. Draco had been staring at her long before Ron got there, and that meant…that…no. Hermione didn't want to deal with him because the last thing she needed was to have a confrontation like that. Her feet compelled her to get out of the forest and that's exactly what she did.

…

"Come on, talk to me Ron!" moaned Hermione, as she crept up behind Ron on the way back to the castle. She glanced around and witnessed the cheerful faces of students strolling together in deep conversation, and it was so paradoxical to her mood that she could almost vomit.

"Ron, Ron, Ron!" Herrmione might as well have been a layer of the grass because he didn't even look at her. Instead, he quickened his pace to get to Dean and Seamus, making Hermione stop on the spot.

She screamed in frustration. A few fourth year boys on her right glanced at her with interest, and Hermione mumbled "sorry" and walked alone the rest of the way.

_Don't cry_, she told herself forcefully as the tears began to well up in her eyes. Everything was going to be alright. It had to be. Ron would probably forget about it and start talking to her the next day. It's nothing, she reassured herself.

But if it was nothing, then why did he rip off her necklace? It was as if he'd ripped off his love for her in a fraction of a second and that was not possible. Ron loved her…he told her this every single day, and no one could just turn off their hearts to the person they truly loved…

Hermione touched her neck softly and felt mild sores around the back. Suddenly, she jumped from a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she found Ginny and Harry giving her surprised looks.

"What happened to you?" said Ginny, as she strolled ahead on Hermione's side.

Hermione couldn't say "nothing" so she decided on, "Oh, uh…I was in Zonko's and this rubbish ring snapped onto my neck-"

"No," cut in Ginny, "I meant, why are you alone? Where's my beloved brother?" Hermione sensed the bitterness in Ginny's voice.

"Somewhere ahead…I don't know." A whisper came out of Hermione's mouth.

Harry, walking on the other side of her, said, "You got into a fight?"

Hermione nodded, primarily because if she said one more word, tears would fall from her eyes. She was _not_ going to cry. She was strong.

Harry cursed under his breath, and Ginny spoke, "About what?"

"Don't want to discuss it. I'll see you later." Hermione ran ahead without looking back at her friends.

…

Hermione pulled the blanket over her to shield her from the cold erupting from inside of her. It was a reasonably warm night, but her body was shivering. The thoughts that twirled inside her head were making her cold.

As she lay in her bed with her eyes closed, she wondered if Ron would ever make up with her. Hermione couldn't stand not talking to him, laughing with him, and especially kissing him…

A never ending debate was going on inside of her, and the more she thought about it, the more she came to believe that their breakup was her fault. Their break up…That phrase had a permanent sensation that Hermione didn't like to think about, but she had to face it. The girl who had chased off after Draco Malfoy was her. The lips that had locked with Draco's were also hers. If she had been in Ron's shoes, would she have agreed to believe that nothing was going on? If only she'd kept her curiosity under control, then she wouldn't have gotten involved in Draco's affairs, and Ron would still be with her.

Well…maybe if Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup tomorrow, then Ron would be happy enough to forget the whole fiasco. It was highly likely that they would win because they were easily the best team out of all of the houses, but she feared that Ron and Harry's (and even) Ginny's tempers would get in the way of winning.

While praying that this wouldn't happen, Hermione's mind went into a blank as her thoughts drifted off gradually. She fell into a deep slumber, praying that tomorrow would bring hope.

…

Harry awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of chirping owls and the shuffling of fresh summer leaves, totally rejuvenated and ready for their final Quidditch match. This isn't just the final match of the year, he thought as he got out of bed, but probably the last official Quidditch match of his life. In a month, he would be fighting evil out in the real world as an Auror, or so he hoped.

Harry glanced at Ron's bed and saw that he wasn't there. Well, he must be more nervous than me. _Who cares how Ron feels?_ That night came back to him. Ron had been so stupid and idiotic to declare that he would kill Ginny. Why would he attack the girl he loved? It wasn't like Ron was a saint or something, that he could just badmouth him like that.

There was no surprise that practically no one was speaking to Ron. He deserved it because he was overreacting to everything. How dare he criticize him for being intimate with Ginny?

The bleak anger that had dissolved sprouted in him again, causing his scar twitch, but Harry barely took note of it. His scar hurt so frequently and intensely that it was as normal as eating and sleeping to him.

He took a quick shower and then returned to his dorm room to polish his Firebolt, making it look as new as possible. He wasn't going to let anything in his way of winning the Quidditch World Cup. Something gave him the feeling that a bad even was going to take place at the match. It was just a natural instinct. But then again, something bad always happened to him and to the people around him. So many people that he cared about had died because of him. He had never gotten the chance to speak to his parents or even have a few memories of them because of him being the top on Voldemort's hit list. Sirius had fallen into the black veil and disappeared out of Harry's life forever because of his own stupidity…

Harry inserted his Firebolt back into his trunk and locked it until game time, and went downstairs for some breakfast. Two-thirds of the students in the Great Hall were dressed in Gryffindor colors, while the rest were deep green colors of Slytherin. His eyes trailed to the staff table and surprisingly saw that even Dumbledore, who usually wore purple, was dressed in gold and red colors.

He found Ginny sitting at their usual table, chatting with Andrew Kirke.

Harry kissed her on the cheek as he settled down next to her, inhaling the sweet aroma of vanilla and raspberry clouding her cheek that gave him a feeling like he was in the clouds.

"Hmm…you smell sweet." breathed Harry.

"Bonjour." she gave him a peck on the lips.

"Here. Eat something." said Harry, and slid a plate of toast and sausage to his right.

Ginny, who almost never let anything depress her, grabbed the plate and began eating feverishly. However, she stopped in the middle of drinking her orange juice.

"Did you eat?" inquired Ginny.

"Yeah."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. You nod your head when you lie." she said, folding her arms smartly. Harry grinned.

"I'm not hungry."

Ginny plunged into a boring lecture about how a person should always eat breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Her voice drowned when they both witnessed Hermione entering the Hall with a solemn face.

"Don't act romantic or kiss me. I don't want to upset her." Ginny murmured.

"Got it."

Hermione sat down across from them and gave a timid greeting. Her face was poignant but otherwise amazingly normal. Harry had expected her to be crying all night or something and show up in the morning with her face as gaunt as a ghost's.

"You okay?" said Ginny, in a concerned voice.

"Yes, I'm fine." Hermione grabbed a plate and threw a few pieces of toast onto it. At that precise moment, a pack of owls flew into the hall and a small brown owl dropped an issue of the Daily Prophet on the table. Hermione opened the newspaper and absorbed herself in it, not even bothering to touch the plate of breakfast that she had set up.

Harry glanced at Ginny, who looked as worried as him. Suppressing emotion was never a good thing, and he should know. It could drive a person crazy.

"Er, anyway…" Harry pushed his glasses into place and rounded about to Ginny, "You remember all the techniques we went through on Thursday, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what I'll be doing. You just make sure you get the Snitch before Malfoy uses a thousand tricks to try and kill you before you touch that ball."

His eyes fell upon Hermione's face and saw her eyebrows twitch. She raised her head and said, "Good luck on the match, you two. I know you'll win."

While Harry nodded with pride, Hermione's attention went past him. He followed her gaze to find Ron present in the Great Hall with his old broomstick clutched in one hand. Harry looked away instantly.

After a minute or so, Hermione elevated her head from the sound of Ron's voice and saw him laughing and talking to Dean and Seamus who were about twenty feet away from them. Hermione's eyes landed on Ron's broomstick and suddenly, she bolted up, her spiky hair covering half of her face, and blasted out of the hall at the speed of a missile.

Harry looked back at Ginny in bewilderment, "What in the world was that about?"

Ginny's face turned serious, "She bought him a new broom on Valentine's Day and he's not using it. That's my guess."

"Oh…I see." Harry's anger deepened further as he glimpsed Ron now arm wrestling with Seamus.

"Let's go." Harry got to his feet, ready to march after Hermione.

"Where, to kick Ron in the-"

"No. To Hermione." said Harry, although the first idea seemed reasonable as well.

"I think she wants to be alone." commented Ginny, who was still sitting.

"She's had enough alone time. I want to know what happened." Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny and led her to the common room.

Students in robes of red and gold were rushing down the stairs of both the girl and boy dormitories, and as they came in, Mason, a tall and spiny chaser of their Quidditch team, spotted them with an incredulous look on his face, "What are you guys doing in here? You should be in the locker room!"

"You can't boss the captain around. We'll be there soon. There's something we got to take care of."

Mason agreed and left the room, while Harry searched the common room for Hermione.

"She's not here." said Ginny, whose eyes were also scanning, "she's probably in her room."

Harry rushed to the staircase leading up to the girls dormitory and was about to step on it when Ginny pushed him back.

"What?"

"You'll never get up there. Remember?" said Ginny, smiling.

"Oh…right. Err…wait," he said, raising his hand, "I have an idea."

…

"How did you get up here?" Hermione stared at Harry in astonishment.

Harry raised his Firebolt as a clue, and Hermione gaped at him, "Flew in? Oh my god…"

Oh my god was right. A peculiar layer of gloom was present on her drenched wet face that Harry had never seen before. Sure, he had seen Hermione cry loads of times, but this time he was looking at a face that gave off the feeling that it would never look happy again.

"Forget about it," said Harry, sitting on the bed besides Hermione, "I can't play Quidditch with half my mind worrying about you, so just tell us what happened. You'll feel better."

Ginny settled herself on the bed across from Hermione's, "Yeah."

And so she did. Hermione told them that she had seen a guy with a black hood and then had gone after him, only to find Draco beaten up to death. Hiccupping and crying, she continued and said that Ron came after her and saw her alone with Draco.

Harry frowned, "Hold on. Why was he so pissed about seeing you with Malfoy? He knows you two are buddies, and it wasn't like you were making out with him on the spot."

Hermione averted her bloodshot eyes.

Ginny clapped a hand to her open mouth, "Oh my god, you were?"

"No way!" Harry refused to believe that Hermione would ever have that type of relationship with…Malfoy. Even though she was on cooperative terms with him didn't mean that she would start liking him.

"No…he kissed me…just knocked me off by surprise…and Ron just…came there at the wrong time…" Her voice fainted by the word, "and now he won't listen to me…he doesn't believe me…at first, I thought it wasn't that serious, but…look." She moved her hair to one side and pointed to the back of her neck. Harry went closer to look and saw a swollen blue line spread across her rear neck.

"He hurt you?" breathed Harry. A fire erupted inside his body. He opened his mouth again but Hermione beat him to it.

"Well, no…he tore off the…necklace…and…I guess it was my fault…I kissed him…" Hermione's voice cracked and she wailed and sobbed, her face covered in her hands.

"It's not your fault. Blame that scumbag Malfoy. He was the one who made the moves on you." declared Harry. He took her hands and put them down, and then wiped off her tears just like she had done for him a few days ago. He couldn't believe Ron had done that. He loved Hermione so much; he should have trusted Hermione. Harry had the sudden urge to get his hands on a Bludger and hurl it at Ron.

"Harry…" whispered Ginny, signaling her eyes at the window. He gazed out at the Quidditch field surrounded by the crowded benches. Harry spotted a few people the size of caterpillars in the middle of the field and he knew that the match was about to start.

Hermione's innocent face turned to his, "Go. You're late."

"Come on." Harry prodded her, but she didn't get up, "No…I don't feel like going…go…good luck…"

Ginny and Harry exchanged sorrowful looks. This was not at all like Hermione. The real Hermione would deal with her problems and go on with her life, no matter what those problems were. She wouldn't hide in her room. Harry felt even greater hatred towards Ron.

"Don't worry about it Hermione. I'll talk to Ron as soon as the match is over, okay? Everything will be fine, you'll see." Ginny hugged her, "Get some rest. We'll be back as soon as we can."


	23. Gryffindor Vs Slytherin

Chapter 23 – Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

"Let it go, Harry." Ginny tried to keep her voice as stable as possible as they went to the changing rooms. She caressed his hand with delicate strokes like she always did when he was in a bad mood to make him relax, but this time it wasn't working.

"Of all people, you're telling me to cool it? That scumbag is way out of his league, hurting Hermione like that! That filthy son of a-"

In an instant, Ginny flew her hand out and sealed his mouth. Harry kept on raving but the words came out muffled, making Ginny's hand press even tighter.

"I get it. Seriously. We have to knock some sense into him, but later. You can't expect to win a Quidditch match with overly hormonal teenagers who wanna knock the stuffings out of people in their own team," Ginny came closer, "Now, are you ready to behave?"

Harry nodded and as soon as she retrieved her hand, he goaded into speech, "Why are you so calm about this? He hurt her, he actually physically hurt her. Did you see those lines on her neck? And people think I'm losing my mind-"

"Eh, eh, eh!" warned Ginny. She pointed ahead to the entrance of the changing room, which was now only a few yards from them.

"Just relax! Forget about Ron for now. That's my order."

Harry shot her a this-is-not-the-time-to-be-joking-look, but as much as he didn't want to admit it, she was right. They couldn't win the match if the Seeker's mind wandered off every second and the Snitch flew away forever. He inhaled deeply and counted to ten as they stepped inside the room.

Everyone's heads turned to the door when they heard it open. The Quidditch players were settled rather anxiously on the benches from what Harry could gather from their faces.

"Finally," spoke Mason, getting to his feet, "I thought you two skived off."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Don't be an idiot. Did you actually think we would skip Quidditch?"

"And you were telling me to chill out," Harry said to Ginny out of the corner of his mouth and then turned to his team members, "Gather around, everyone." commanded Harry. His teammates gathered around in the changing room with determination but also apprehension on their faces. The boisterous noises all the way from the field echoed in his ears as silence filled the room.

When he spoke to his team, he pretended that Ron wasn't there so at least he would have somewhat focus in the most important Quidditch match of his life, but the fact that he was the tallest person standing was not contributing to his goal.

"…keep goaling your first priority but watch out for Crabbe and Goyle." Harry instructed Ginny, Colin Creevey, and Mason VanCuren, the Chasers of the team. Then he turned to Andrew Kirke and Jack Slooper, "This is our day, guys. Keep the Bludger away as best as you can. Pretend it's Snape."

Harry didn't give Ron encouragement and instruction and no one really expected him to. He was just about to round off his speech when he heard someone say something.

"We're late as hell."

Harry's neck cricked to the source of the voice and with no surprise, saw that it was Mason. He took a deep breath to control his emotions and said calmly to Mason, "That's alright. We can make a special appearance and hype up the crowd.

"I don't think that crowd needs more hyping up, but we do!" Ginny shot her arm in the air, "Come on team! We have to win this! The Slytherins are just a bunch of cabbage heads who can't tell the difference between Quaffles and cupcakes! We will definitely win!"

Only Colin Creevey cheered loudly at this, and without further ado, they headed out to the pitch in a scattered pattern.

The sun's radiant light hit Harry's face as he walked outside. The immense crowd whistled and hooted as the Gryffindor team came out. The Slytherins were standing in the middle of the field next to Madam Hooch with haughty expressions on their faces. Harry spotted a head of silvery-blond hair and he could just picture knocking Malfoy's teeth out, every last one of them.

"It's perfect weather." announced Ginny, as she straightened out her Quidditch robe.

She was right. It was the perfect day for a Quidditch match. There were no gusts of wind to push him off his broom or the pouring rain to blind him, but that didn't necessarily mean a good thing.

"It could be the calm before the storm. The storm being Slytherin of course."

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine! Cheer up! Think positive!"

"I'll try." Harry kissed her and mumbled, "Love you n good luck."

He approached Madam Hooch with his Firebolt held tightly in his hands.

"Captains shake hands." she ordered, as Malfoy came face to face with him. With reluctance, Harry held out his hand. Malfoy shook it for about a half a second, giving him a vicious glare with it. I can't believe Hermione think he's good, what a-

"Mount your brooms…"

All fourteen brooms rose slowly as Madam Hooch released the balls and blew her whistle. And they were off. Ginny threw the Quaffle to Mason as Harry steered off to one side.

Harry soared across the border of the Quidditch field and took in the fresh air that felt refreshing as if he was on the peak of a mountain. It felt good to be back in the air and even though he didn't realize it then, all of the animosity towards Ron did fade away slowly.

As best as he could, Harry searched the skies for a glint of gold, often descending and ascending to get the full perspective. He stole a look at Malfoy for a second and perceived him doing the same thing on the opposite side of the field. For some reason Malfoy seemed to be flying slower than usual but his astute eyes were compensating for that.

A booming voice distracted him from Malfoy and it was Dennis Creevey with the commentary: "And Colin, I mean, Creevey throws the Quaffle to Mason, now back to Ginny! What a game this'll be! Oh-intercepted by Slytherin Chaser Wickam-"

Wickam, a tall and husky blond-haired guy, advanced to the Gryffindor Pitch and Harry caught a glimpse of Ron wavering left and right in front of the goal posts.

I hope he misses.

Wait, what am I thinking? He wanted to win and it was such bad luck to think that for the team. Ron could block it but the Quaffle should knock him out. Yes, that would fit perfectly.

"And Wickam's about to shoot as Gryffindor Keeper Ron Weasley readies to block-come on Ron!"

When Harry heard this, he smirked, knowing that the more Ron was encouraged into doing something, the higher the chance that he would fail.

Wickam hurled the Quaffle at the right goal hoop as Ron dived hard to the left. Cheers erupted from the Slytherin crowd but the Gryffindors settled down with disappointment written all over their faces and Harry knew why. Gryffindor was almost always the first to score. This was not a good omen.

The match went on for another hour and by then, Harry was ready to forfeit the game.

"The Slytherins score once again," announced Dennis in a monotonous voice, "The score is a hundred to twenty."

Harry felt like he was back in his 5th year when they had had their first Quidditch match of the season. Ron had done terribly then and he was doing terribly now. Harry had the urge to go over to him and give him confidence, but his pride overran that wish. No matter how much he wanted to make up with Ron, he wouldn't because it was Ron's fault that they had stopped talking, not his. He had not done anything wrong.

The adrenaline pumped back into him as he put all those thoughts aside. Harry hunted the sky for the Snitch like he had never before, zooming across with recklessness in great strides.

He was not going to lose to the Slytherins. Not a chance. His eyes riveted left and right for a catch of gold, but all he could see was the Gryffindors and Slytherins juggling the Quaffle. Come on, come on, where's the damn Snitch!

Suddenly, an unbearable pain seared across his forehead. He cried as a hand went to his scar to stop it. His body slid to the left and almost detached itself from the broom but Harry took both hands and took a firm grip on the broom.

Harry's scar was on fire, as if it was going to split apart his head into two. It hurt this much only when he was around Voldemort. Voldemort…What if he was around here somewhere? The Forbidden Forest…

Cheers rang out in the Slytherin crowd once again as Wickam scored. The score was now hundred ten to twenty and if Harry didn't catch the Snitch soon, they would lose.

He looked back and forth in frustration, and in spite of the game, he twirled to face the Forbidden Forest.

He stared at the top of the thick copse of trees but saw nothing unusual. His gaze trailed down to the barks and he doubled back. Squinting, he observed a dark shadow stir. Rested in midair, he looked even harder and caught a glimpse of the face he had not seen for three years. Wormtail.

Harry flew across the field to get a closer look of who he had just seen and make sure he wasn't having hallucinations. All of the voices and noises surrounding him ceased as he saw Wormtail's face. He was smiling. A wicked but cogent smile with his rotted teeth sticking out. He fluctuated his arms and made a circular motion with both of his hands as if he was using a method of hypnotizing.

Harry stayed there motionless on his broom, completely unnerved. A circular motion…did that mean-

"HARRY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GO!" Ginny shrieked from behind him and brought him back to reality. Harry swerved and sprinted across the field. Malfoy was way ahead of him and the Snitch was almost in his grasp.

Go, go, go! His Firebolt charged with energy and flew at the speed of a cheetah, dashing across the field until he was a few feet close of Malfoy.

He had to get it, he just had to. He was so close! Harry reached his arm out and grabbed a hold of Malfoy's robes regardless of the consequences. Malfoy increased speed and left Harry's arm in midair.

Harry's scar shook with burning pain but he ignored it and went after the Slytherin. The Snitch lay only a few inches from Malfoy's hand and Harry' anger riveted to the max, "NO!"

The broom seemed to have understood him because it darted forward until he was side to side with him. Harry went to shove Malfoy off his broom but something struck him first. With his wand sticking out of his robe pocket, Malfoy muttered a spell. A flame of blue light shot his chest, causing him to lose balance, and his body rocked sideways and loosened from the Firebolt. His eyes widened with surprise as he soared down helplessly. He felt his consciousness drifting away as a force winded at him and grabbed him. His body slowed down gradually but his eyes drooped until he knew no more.

Harry opened his eyes and witnessed patches of green grass in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground back face up and as he pressed his hands against the earth to get up, his body trembled and ached and thumped back down. He opened his mouth to utter a sound but nothing came out and it felt like his chin had cracked.

"Where's Madam Hooch?" Harry heard Ginny's frantic voice, and an unfamiliar voice said, "She's with Malfoy-"

"Dumbledore! Go get Dumbledore!" Ginny yelled, "He's not waking up! Oh god…"

As a sign of protest, Harry raised his right hand and smacked the ground a couple of times so Ginny would hear it.

Immediately, a pair of arms surrounded his torso and turned him over. Ginny's blurred and tear stricken face hovered above him and a slight smile appeared on her face as she saw Harry's opened eyes.

He glanced around with his body still flat on the ground and saw a fuzzy picture of people scrambled around him. Past them, he saw other people scattered about the Quidditch field. From what he could tell of the goal posts to his right, he was on the Gryffindor side of the field.

"Here." said Ginny, who was now sitting next to him, "Reparo!"

She handed him his glasses and he put them on. Harry made another attempt to get off the ground but it didn't work.

Ginny patted him and slowly put him back down, "Just stay still. Andrew went to get help. Where's Hermione when you need her…" She added as an afterthought.

"It's a good thing Ron was there to break his fall." Harry heard someone from the crowd whisper.

Ron saved him…from what? It took quite a while for realization to hit him. Malfoy…blue flame…the Snitch…the Snitch!

"Where's Ron? And did we…did we win?" Harry choked out.

"I don't know where he is. Oh Harry, I'm sorry, but-"

"Move it, move it!" a voice interrupted Ginny as the crowd around Harry dispersed. Colin Creevey and Andrew Kirke walked up to him, followed by a tall wizard with a snowy white beard.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

"Excuse me, Ms.Weasley." said Dumbledore. Ginny moved out of the way and he kneeled down next to him.

Dumbledore locked his eyes briefly with Harry. He looked past those crescent-shaped spectacles and frowned. There was something different about those eyes…he couldn't spot that lively glint in his eyes that he always had. But then he thought he was just being panicky from the effects of whatever spell Malfoy had struck him with.

"What happened? You did not fall flat down so what hit you?"

Harry coughed, feeling like his mouth was filled with dirt, and spoke, "A blue light, I think…"

Dumbledore nodded and it seemed that he ha figured out what kind of spell it was. Harry got that unusual feeling again and suspected that something wasn't right. It was just a natural instinct.

Dumbledore raised his wand, "Do not move while I articulate the spell, Potter."

Harry stared at the Headmaster for about two seconds before he realized what he had just said. That was the first time Dumbledore had called him 'Potter'. He always referred to him as Harry, which meant that…

"Ginny! Get him away from me! That's not-"

"Calm down." said Dumbledore serenely, and turned slowly to Ginny, "It must be the effects of the spell."

Ginny nodded and she knew not to protest against Dumbledore, but Harry did. He prodded his body to go up with all his might but red sparks from Dumbledore's wand made contact with him and he blasted back down.

All of the potential pain inside his body transferred straight to his head. Harry felt alert as if he'd drank a hundred cups of coffee. He bolted right up with wide eyes darting from Ginny to the crowd.

"Where's the Snitch? Did Malfoy get it? Did we win? Did we lose? We had to win, Malfoy cheated!"

Harry was on his feet and Dumbledore made no attempt to stop him. Ginny looked worryingly at him as she gave him half a hug.

"Now don't get angry Harry…but we lost…they figured out that Malfoy had the Snitch before he attacked you so they won."

"What?" said Harry with disbelief. They couldn't have lost, they were the best Quidditch team!

Harry parted from Ginny and took a few steps. Suddenly, a thought hit him, "Where's my Firebolt? What happened to my Firebolt?"

Ginny's eyes trailed to the Forbidden Forest and she didn't need to say it out loud.

Intense rage electrocuted through him. His Firebolt was destroyed. The symbol that represented Sirius's love for him was gone.

In a flash, his wand was out and he ran across the field in search of the bastard. He was dead.

Ginny followed him, "Harry! What are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill Malfoy! Where is he!" His head was ready to explode and he couldn't handle it. Harry had to get the anger out now.

"Harry, stop!"

He spotted Malfoy sitting on the front bench and approached him hungrily as if he was his prey. Malfoy's head turned to face him, fear spreading across his face, and stumbled up to his feet.

"Harry, don't!"

Harry pointed his wand at his enemy, and before Malfoy could move, Harry bellowed, "Crucio!"


	24. The Power of a Quill

**Chapter 24 **

Hermione lay on her bed in a sluggish manner with her body faced to the inner wall. Her eyes were closed as she recounted one memory after another, from the time she had first put a foot on the Hogwarts train when she was eleven to the day that Ron had confessed his feelings to her.

She visualized that night in November when Ron had gotten down to his knees and had begged for her forgiveness. The way he'd looked up at her with that innocent face had melted her heart like sharp ice under excruciating flames. Hermione could still hear Ron's nervous voice say, "Hermione, can I ask you a question?" as if he was intimidated by her answer.

Hermione got a tingling feeling in her body when she thought about that Ron but she got a dark feeling when she pictured him ripping off her necklace and saying that he didn't love her.

A tear left her. She wanted the old Ron back…She wanted the Ron who spent hours walking and talking with her, the Ron who came to visit her in the Hospital Wing everyday, the Ron who made her smile.

Hermione wished she was a kid again, the time when she only cared about her books and homework and tests and was mainly a systematic person. Sure, friends were important then but they didn't take complete control of her emotions like they were now.

_Come on, Hermione, get up and away from your misery,_ a voice inside her head commanded her.

Hermione got to her feet and faced the closed window in the middle of the room. She pulled the shades to one side and stared at the Quidditch field, making her double back for a second. The field looked like utter chaos, with a heap of miniscule figures huddled at the Gryffindor side of the field and an array of people assembled at the border.

The match was over. But who won? Hermione took a closer look and noticed that the Gryffindor benches were all empty and assumed the mass crowd on the field was Gryffindors congratulating the team.

A slight smile came on Hermione's face and she decided to go congratulate them for their victory. She pulled out a mirror from her mini-dresser and looked at her reflection. Her face appeared so sallow and her eyes showed no life whatsoever. Her usual dark straight hair was poofed up in the back like someone had aimed a blow dryer at it for two hours.

Hermione sighed. Normally, she would have cast a spell on it to make it look better but she didn't care now. She ran a hand through her hair quickly, buttoned up her loosened robe, and left the room, hoping everyone would be able to cheer her up.

But as soon as she stepped outside for the first time that day, she knew being cheered up would be far from possible.

Hermione looked up as the scorching sun as she ran to the immense crowd now all circled around something or someone.

After a minute, Hermione gasped for some breath as she got to the other side of the field. The nearest to her was Neville, who was standing on the outside of the pack of people, and she reached out her arm to him, "What's going on? What happened?"

Neville turned, "Malfoy attacked Harry and I think Dumbledore's fixing him," he examined her from top to bottom with raised eyes, "Where have you been?"

"Ohhh…" Hermione pushed Neville aside, "Move."

She pushed herself in through the people, scared about what she was going to have to witness. But as she began to reach the inner part of the crowd, a head of ruffled black hair showed amongst the people and stormed across.

Hermione pushed aside the last person in her way and envisioned the whole picture in front of her. Harry, equipped with his wand, was marching to the Slytherin team sitting on the benches, with his red and golden robes flying both ways, and Ginny was following him not as fast as Harry, but in a swift pace.

Hermione turned to the right and found Dumbledore standing next to her with a serious face. She looked at Harry and then back at Dumbledore, who still hadn't caught her observing him.

As politely as she could, she said, "Professor Dumbledore, aren't you going to stop him?"

Dumbledore jumped at her voice; a jump that Hermione would not have expected from Dumbledore. He focused his eyes on her and stared at her for a moment as if he was considering something before saying, "I think it is very necessary for Harry to let his anger out at the present time."

_I don't think so_, she thought, "But, Professor Dumbledore, don't you think perhaps you should-"

"Ah!" Dumbledore flung his arm, "I have to discuss your N.E.W.T results with you!"

Brushing aside the fact that Dumbledore had her N.E.W.T results, she noticed that something very strange was going on. To Hermione, Dumbledore was a calm and wise wizard who would stop anything from harming Harry. He wouldn't jump at her voice and try to steer her away when Harry was about to get in trouble.

So when Dumbledore ushered her to come with him, she left him to one side and turned into a cat. Without looking back for his reaction, she scurried past them rapidly, but stopped midway. The word _crucio_ rang out in the field and Hermione saw Draco shake and scream with excruciating pain and then crash to the ground as Ginny struck Harry's wand away in a flash.

Hermione could not believe what she had just seen. Harry had used an Unforgivable curse in front of the whole school. This was not going to turn out good; hell had arrived.

The next events were a blur to her. The teachers rushed down to the field to where Harry was standing, girls in the Slytherin benches shrieked in horror and ran for it, and the Gryffindor team even disappeared out of her sight.

Hermione transformed into her human self and darted to Ginny, who was standing horrified a few feet away from Harry and the teachers. Professor McGonagall was flabbergasted and totally not her usual stern self, Tonks had an extremely worried face that Hermione had never seen before, and even Snape appeared mildly concerned about what was going to happen next.

Hermione faced Ginny, "What, in the name of Merlin, is going on?"

"He found out that his Firebolt was crushed into pieces, and the next thing I see is him storming off to attack Malfoy! What do you think's going to happen?"

"I hope what I think will happen won't happen but if it does happen, then…"

"Meaning?" said Ginny eagerly.

Hermione's eyes traveled around and rested upon a group of figures in big cloaks coming their way, "Meaning…that." She pointed at them, and Ginny's eyes followed.

"Oh no…no no no…"

All of the teachers turned their heads to the wizards and witches now only a few feet away from them. They were all dressed in red cloaks and equipped wands.

A tall man with grey hair and a stone cold expression on his face approached Harry and spoke formally, "From the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and in order from Mistress of Magic Amelia Bones, you, Harry James Potter, are under arrest for performing the Cruciatus Curse on Draco Malfoy at two twenty one this afternoon with a life sentence in Azkaban prison."

Hermione escorted a helpless Ginny back to the common room with her arm supporting Ginny's shoulders. She terribly wished Ginny would stop sobbing because it was making tears come out of Hermione's eyes. She couldn't handle this much sadness and if she tried to think about it all at one time she was sure to get some major psychological trauma.

Harry was in Azkaban…Azkaban…forever…

"Over here." Hermione led Ginny to their usual spot by the fireplace and unexpectedly, Ginny crashed down on the floor and immediately buried her face in her hands. Hermione laid herself on the chair in front of her. Instinctively, Hermione spat out, "Would you stop crying?" Realizing how rude she sounded, Hermione added, "Please?"

"Shut it!" retorted Ginny, "Take a look at yourself first!"

With a swift hand, Hermione wiped off her tears and closed and opened her eyes a several times to stop the tear flow. When that didn't quite work, she elevated her head so the tears wouldn't flow down.

She rocked her body forward, "See? No tears. Ginny…stop crying…please. We will get Harry back, I promise you. Have faith."

Ginny darted her eyes at Hermione, "How? How are we going to get him back? We're just useless teenagers who don't have the power to do anything-"

"Stop it, stop it! You'll drive me crazy!" Hermione closed her mouth once again and almost smacked herself for being so hostile in words. She knelt down to Ginny and tried to speak in an apologetic manner, "I seriously don't want to think about it right now, Ginny, I _can't_ handle it. The whole world has turned upside down suddenly…We have to think and figure out what happened back there, and maybe…maybe we'll have a chance to prove that Harry's innocent."

She couldn't exactly apprehend it, but Hermione was having weird feelings inside of her, making her feel like someone had broken in through her barrier, leaving her unprotected. The world was in chaos, and Harry had just been arrested and taken to Azkaban. As Hermione watched Ginny's feeble form on the floor, she got an even worse feeling, warning her that anything could happen to make their lives, if that was even possible.

The only solution to this was Ron…she needed Ron…

"Innocent!" Ginny fumed, breaking Hermione's train of thought, "How the hell are we supposed to do that? I saw him, you saw him, the whole world saw him! He ran straight at Malfoy and cursed him practically to death. What would we say? That he was possessed?"

Hermione considered this, but shook her head, "No, not possessed…"

She closed her mouth because she had just sensed a movement to her right, and when she faced that way, her brain was in shock. Hermione looked up at the pale face closing in on them for a second before she lowered her eyes.

_I asked for him_, she contemplated, _and here he is._

Hermione's consternation was playing with her mind in a funny way. She wanted Ron to come to her and apologize, but on the other hand, she didn't want to talk to him. It would automatically be giving up her integrity and feelings just for her lover and that wasn't right. She didn't think she should forgive him, but she wanted to be in his arms again…

However, Hermione didn't have to worry about this because Ron kneeled down in front of Ginny with a determined look on his face. He took no note of Hermione's presence.

"I'm so sorry Ginny. For everything." said Ron, his head slouched down.

"So now you're apologizing for your hostile behavior? After Harry's out of your sight and gone forever? If you think you'll regain your image in my eyes now, you're kidding yourself."

"No, No! You've got it all wrong! Come on Ginny, I'm your brother! Okay, I know I was acting stupid-"

"And still are-"

"-But I think I just realized it today-"

"Oh, what a bunch of crap!" shrieked Ginny, "You're just happy he's out of the way so he can't kill me! You just came to talk to me for your own pride, not-"

"Ginny, stop." interrupted Hermione, in a forceful manner. Ginny was an emotional mess right now and Hermione didn't want her friend to say things that she would later regret. They did not need another separation like they had with Percy, and as she turned her head in Ron's direction, she could tell that he could not take any more insults or accusations.

Ginny gave out one of those mad cackles, "Look at you defending him! You should be on my side, not his. He hurt the both of us, not just me!"

Hermione expected Ron to look at her, or even give her a half-second glance, but it didn't come. It was as if he was hiding himself in shame, away from her. But why would he apologize to Ginny but not to her? A deep feeling sank inside her heart, but she ignored it and decided to produce a more rational conversation.

"Just put aside all of that for now, Ginny. I refuse to believe that any one of us doesn't want Harry back, so we have to figure out what happened."

Ron, however, had no intention to discuss this, and jumped at the chance to talk, "Ginny, just listen to me. I know I was acting stupid these past few weeks, or no, the past few years, of being too overprotective. I remember when I first found out that you were dating Michael Corner and my defense immediately came up and I don't think I ever liked him after that. Whenever I think of you together with a guy, I just want to separate you from them as far as possible because I know guys are…vicious." He took a deep breath, "I don't want them to hurt you. You're my little sister and it's my responsibility to look after you. I guess it didn't matter to me if it was Michael, Dean, or even Harry because I was looking out for you."

Ginny sniffed, "I get that, but you still went too far. Even if you are my brother, you can't keep us away like that. If I seem to remember correctly, you told Harry to choose someone 'better' after he broke up with Cho and when we finally do get together, you barge in on us and accuse Harry of having the possibility to kill me?"

Hermione perceived a dreamy, yet determined look on Ron's face when he spoke, "I think I was more worried about him than even the other ones, I don't know why…actually, I do," the tone of his voice changed, "I knew how much power he had…has, and I thought he would hurt you just like he almost did to-"

Hermione stared hard at her numb fingers and felt herself being pulled back into this strange connection…

"And like today-"

"That wasn't his fault," contradicted Ginny, but in a much more controlled manner, "It was Malfoy."

"Always is," Ron muttered, making Hermione feel more awkward than before, "But do you see what I'm saying? With that much power and courage to do that to…people, I thought it would be even more important to keep you away from him."

Ginny shook her head, "You make him sound like a ruffian. He's just Harry, the same Harry who came to Hogwarts in hope of reversing his life fortune, but instead of improvement, his life just got worse. We're the only ones he has, and when you turned on him like that, do you have any idea what you made him feel like?"

Ron didn't answer.

"An orphan, that's what." Ginny's face was free of tears now, but her eyes were still red. "Sure, he has me and Hermione, but it's different from your friendship with him."

Hermione felt like an angel, watching this scene from above and calculating it, but she also wanted to land and butt in their conversation because she had a hundred thoughts swirling in her head. In the end, she kept her mouth closed and stayed out of the brother-sister reconciliation.

"Forgive me?" said Ron.

"For being a nagging brother, yes. For accusing Harry, no, unless you bring him back…"

"I will. I promise. Please forgive me?" said Ron, his eyebrows contracting, "Or am I going to have to call Fred and George for professional help?"

As an answer, Ginny brushed her knees across the floor to him and gave him a hug, and Hermione could see a tear escape Ginny's eye.

Hermione smiled in spite of the situation; finally, the broken pieces of the puzzle were adhering. Now, only if she could go up to him and embrace him, but Ron's last words kept on following her like a stalker or an obsessed ghost. Was it true? She asked herself. Was she just his first crush, and no more?

When Ginny broke off her hug, she witnessed Hermione's face and after blinking a few times in thought, she said, "Oh…I just thought of something that could help bring Harry back…" Hermione knew she was lying, but Ron opened his mouth, "Really? What?"

Ginny pointed towards the door as she got to her feet, "I'm gonna go talk to one of the teachers. They're bound to know something…" The rest of her sentence trailed off and she gave both of them a furtive look, "You two work on it too. Try to think of anything helpful. Hermione, use your full brain-power and Ron, you…" Ron raised an eyebrow, and Ginny continued with a sign of a grin, "work with Hermione. Find out everything about the match, if there were suspicious people there, if the Slytherins cast a spell on Harry or made him drink a dangerous potion. Break in the Slytherin Common Room if you have to and threaten them, got it? And speaking of threatening…I wonder if I can get my hands on some Veritaserum…"

Hermione and Ron flew up in protest, "No!"

"Thanks for agreeing," said Ginny, dashing across the room, and disappeared out of their sight.

Hermione felt stupid for getting up like that. She lowered herself down on the floor and crossed her legs. Ron took a seat on the chair behind her so he wasn't facing her.

It was one of the most uncomfortable moments in her life; just sitting there, waiting for Ron to come to talk to her when she knew that he was probably also expecting her to say something to him first. They were like two negative ends to a magnet forcing to separate themselves when they were so close to each other. Hermione didn't' know what Ron was doing thinking about just sitting there on the chair, but all she could think about was the person behind her. Why wasn't he saying anything to her? Even a sound coming out of his mouth would have gotten her heart thumping faster.

The common room was surprisingly empty and while a few people came in to get something, they didn't stay long. Hermione couldn't tell if a second, minute, or an hour had passed by, but if felt like her heart was decaying second by second.

Finally, a timid voice rang out, "Thought of anything?"

Hermione turned her head halfway and cleared her throat, "No." _I'm too busy thinking about you_, she contemplated.

"Oh, well, I-"

Thinking that it was safe, she turned to face him the whole way, but perceived his eyes pointing down to his stained blue hands.

"-was thinking that he was put under some spell right after he ran at Malfoy and fell."

"What kind of spell?" she said indifferently, her eyes lowered as well.

"Right after Malfoy caught the Snitch, eh hit Harry with a spell that knocked him out. It probably did something to him, although I don't know why Malfoy bothered. That fall could have killed Harry if I hadn't been there to catch him."

Hermione shot her eyes at him and all of a sudden, the indifference left her voice, "You caught him? Did…does Harry know that?"

"No, don't think so. He was unconscious when I put him down, and then I left."

The way this conversation sounded, it seemed like they were both coworkers with no account of their personal life but only their work. Well…it was a start…

"But back to Drac-Malfoy," Hermione corrected herself, "The only curse that could have made Harry do that was the Imperius curse. He's powerful, but not that powerful to perform that curse. It had to be someone else near the field."

"Who? No Death Eater would be stupid enough to attack Harry in front of all those teachers."

"Quirrell did."

"Quirrell was a nutcase." Ron added.

Hermione nodded. It felt so strange to talk to him with no compassion, but just focus on their mission. But, on the bright side, she could feel those magnets coming closer.

"I'm still betting on Malfoy." said Ron.

Malfoy…his scarred and bloodied face floated into her head and she had a flashback to that day in the woods near Hogsmeade.

"The woods…that's where Malfoy was that day-"

That day…the horrible day…Hermione could see Ron's cheeks growing red.

"Yeah…near Hogsmeade. I know Voldemort's whole possy is hanging around somewhere near the castle, but the trouble is finding the place. They must have themselves protected by spells and everything. Voldemort is no Muggle. Some, somehow we have to expose them before Harry goes insane in Azkaban…but how…"

"Dumbledore." said Ron simply, but Hermione shook her head, "He went with Harry, and Ginny's already went to one of the teachers for help…so it's up to us…"

The word 'us' was nice to say again. Us, us, us, us…

Ron broke her spell bounding thought, "The Maurader's map. Maybe if you can find a spell to reveal the most hidden places, then there'll be a chance."

As Ron turned to the direction of the boys dormitory, Hermione said, "Good idea…are you going to get it?"

Ron kicked his right foot back and forth in nervousness, "Uh…can you come with me?"

Her heart jumped.

"I mean," Ron hastily added, "I think he has it locked up real secure so I might need some help to open it."

She nodded and followed him up the stairs to the boys dormitory. Her heart was racing. She had not gotten this rushed and overwhelmed feeling in a long time.

As Hermione walked past the corridor to their dormitory, she was reminded of last time she had been here in Ron's arms…

Ron opened the door and immediately, the sunlight streaked through the window and went straight into Hermione's eyes. She closed her eyes in an instant and took a step forward. Unaware, she leaned forward and bumped into Ron. For that second, she had the urge to grab him from behind and never let go of him, but that was not what she ended up doing.

"Sorry." They both mumbled, and then went ahead to find Harry's trunk. Ron grasped onto its handle under Harry's bed and pulled the closed trunk out.

Ron got out of the way and as Hermione stepped up to it, their eyes met for a fraction of a second. He has that sorry but confused look in his eyes, she considered as she kneeled down and pulled out her wand. After a couple of attempts, the trunk opened. Both of them rummaged through it but did not find it.

Hermione huffed in frustration.

"Now what?" asked Ron.

"Let's check the rest of the room."

Ron checked everything under Harry's bed, mattress, and his mini desk next to the bed, while Hermione went to the other side and decided to search there. Hermione was getting a peculiar feeling from being in this room again; it was as if her old life was returning back to her.

She checked under Ron's bed just in case Harry had put it under there a long time ago, and then scourged Ron's desk but couldn't find anything else than a bunch of Quidditch books.

There was one spot she hadn't checked, so she walked over to Ron's bed again and lifted up the mattress. Hermione had expected to find nothing, but on the contrary, she was looking at innumerable amounts of parchment scattered all over with untidy scrawls encrusted on them. In curiosity, she picked up on of the pieces of parchment and read the familiar handwriting:

_I'm so sorry Hermione. I thought you were kissing Malfoy, and that my eyes ad malfunctioned, but in reality, you were. It drove me crazy and-_

And that was the end of the sentence. Hermione stared at the parchment for a few seconds before realizing that this was an unfinished apology note. Ron did not know that she was reading it because he was now checking Dean and Neville's things. Hermione put her eyes on the parchment and wondered why he hadn't finished it.

The answer to that was in front of her. Hermione picked up another scroll:

_I'm such a prick. I was so cruel to you, but maybe if I hadn't seen you and Malfoy together alone then I wouldn't have freaked._

The next one:

_I am so so so so sorry that I can't even begin to explain it._

Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She felt so overwhelmed that she couldn't explain the feeling either. Why all these letters? Why not just tell it to her face, or at least give her the letters instead of stuffing them here?

The rest of them were just one-lined or scribbles, except for one. She picked it up.

_I don't know how you could put up with me because I'm the stupidest and dumbest person in the history of this world. How should I say sorry? How could I say sorry when the word sorry doesn't begin to cover it. Even a thousand words wouldn't be enough to apologize for my mistakes. I should say all of this in front of you but I'm too ashamed of myself. Accusing you of kissing Malfoy was really wrong because I know deep down that you would never do that, but when I saw it, I panicked. Something came over me. I thought you didn't care about me anymore or love me…so I told you that I didn't love you, but I was lying. I still love you and I always have but I was too dumb to realize it. There's nothing you could do to make me stop loving you because you are part of my life and my heart. If it broke, then I wouldn't survive even for a day. I can't do anything right if you're not a part of me and I don't want you ever to leave me. As much as I know what love is, I love you, care about you, love staring at you, love arguing with you, love copying homework from you, love being badgered by you, love talking and walking with you, love hugging you, kissing you. I am so sorry for hurting you. Punish me any way you want, but take me back-_

"Found it." Ron spoke, holding the Marauder's Map in his hand.

"I found it too." said Hermione, as tears trailed down her cheek.

"Found what?" Ron twirled at Hermione's comment to find a roll of parchment vibrating in her hands. His eyes elevated to her somber face and saw that she was crying.

Hermione held up the parchment in front of his shocked figure and spoke with a crying voice, "You're right…You are a prick…"

Ron had that I-totally-messed-up look, but Hermione couldn't decide if it was for his past actions or for the fact that he hid like a hundred apology letters under his bed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded, as she wiped her eyes.

Ron sat down on Harry's bed, folded his hands as if he was in a business meeting, and gazed out the window in process of averting Hermione's interrogation. But Hermione did not believe it to be an interrogation, only her wish that Ron would explain himself. What was wrong with him? He never kept anything inside, of course, by having the biggest mouth ever, but why did he have to resort to letters this time? Remembering of course that the letters never reached her.

As Hermione looked at him, she caught a glimpse of his blue-fingered hands, "So that's why your fingers are ink stained. I saw that downstairs bud didn't say anything about it. Anyway…answer my question. Why did you write this and not tell me?"

Ron remained silent and still, and it seemed as if his fiery red hair and usual lively eyes were obeying his mood.

Not knowing what else to try to get him to speak, she got on her knees in front of him to get a better leveling eye to eye, and took hold of his hands, causing a chill to transfer from his hands to hers.

"I know why. I'm just trying to get you to say it, but I guess it won't work. You're embarrassed, aren't you? Ashamed…you wrote it in there, she shot an eye to the paper she'd placed on the bed next to him, "I never thought I'd see the day where you would be ashamed to tell me something."

It was like talking to a mime, a very sad and gloomy looking mime. Hermione took a deep breath and went on, "I should get this clear first because I think this is always going to keep coming up unless we talk about it. I do NOT like Malfoy. I don't like him that way now and I never will, but only as a friend. Well, maybe not even as a friend from what trouble he's caused. He's Draco Malfoy and you are Ron. That's like saying I would choose to fail a test rather than ace it, you know what I mean? Never ever think of us together. I never got a chance to tell you this, but I saw a hooded Death Eater in the woods near Hogsmeade and went after him, thinking it was a real Death Eater, but all I found was Malfoy all beaten up. So I helped him, and that's how we came to be in one spot. And as for that kiss, he caught me off guard…" Hermione hadn't thought much about that kiss and why he had kissed her. It made no sense whatsoever.

"You said that sorry doesn't cover it. It does if you truly mean it, and I know you mean it. Did you think if you apologized to me face to face, I wouldn't have forgiven you? When a person loves, they always forgive."

Ron met her eyes, "I thought you…didn't love me." he said timidly.

"Me? You were the one who told me that you didn't love me anymore-"

"I was angry then. Didn't know what I was saying."

"But it still hurt…"

"I thought you didn't love me. You never said it…well, only one, but I had to force it."

"I'm sorry…I thought we understood each other. I don't know about you, but I have always felt this…weird connection between us. It's like we were destined to be together. What were the chances of this: I, a Muggleborn, came to Hogwarts and ran into you on the train, then got sorted in Gryffindor when I should have been put in Ravenclaw. So, who am I to mess with destiny by not forgiving you?"

"I never thought of it that way." Ron took a firmer grip on her hands.

"I didn't either, until Miss Ginny pointed it out to me."

They stared at each other nonstop as if it was another staring contest. There was a hint of warmth in Ron's eyes now that made her want to keep their eyes locked forever. It was like one of those moments in romance movie but felt very real to Hermione. With hand in hand, they were one again.

After a couple of minutes of staring, Ron said, "So…tell me, why you straightened your hair?"

Hermione grinned, "I did it during the holidays to…occupy myself in a time of misery."

"A time of misery, huh…Well, all I know is that I want my old smart bushy-haired sometimes annoying but usually loving girl back. I want things the way they were before."

Hermione raised her eyes. Ron had totally caught her by surprise on that request, and it was such a sweet request that she wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"Hug me Ron." Hermione breathed.


	25. Love is Blind

Chapter 25

Ron took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Hermione, and she clung onto his body in return, caressing him as if he was a soft teddy bear that she needed for comfort. Emotion flowed through her as she rested her head on his chest, remembering back when she couldn't even level up to his shoulders when she hugged him, but now she realized the brilliant thing about it: she leveled up right to his heart, the perfect place.

She broke into tears once again, and sniffed and gulped noisily, causing Ron to twitch uneasily.

"Uh…Hermione?"

She blinked her eyes a few times to rid away the tears, "What?"

"Why are you crying?"

"I don't know…For everything, I guess."

"I am so so so sorry, Hermione-"

"No, stop apologizing. Things like this happen. We're human, not robots."

"Robots?"

She smiled slightly and pulled herself back to look at him in the eye, "I meant that we aren't perfect. Nothing you do can make me stop loving you. To tell you the truth, I don't know exactly what love is. My theory is that it's caring about a person so much that you can't live apart from them, and I've always felt that for you. So if caring is love, then I love you as much as I know how."

Hermione watched Ron's face turn red second by second and opened his mouth, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to-" Hermione held a finger to his lips and there was silence in the room. As their lips met, a tingling feeling rose in her fast beating heart and to her it felt like this was their first kiss. It was even better than their actual first kiss.

The heat rose as they kissed with intense passion and Hermione broke off of his lips to breath, but she craved Ron more than breathing and kissed him back instantly, groping his body all over to be as close to him as possible. Ron's lips trailed down to her neck and he kissed it with a sense of hunger.

Hermione was free of any pain, whether it was physical or emotional, that had been with her, and when Ron led her to his bed, she let go of all the tension, struggle, pain, sadness, and only left room for love in her heart.

…

Ginny glared at Tonks and folded her arms with attitude, "Why _can't_ you tell me?"

"Because you are not in the Order, and besides, there's nothing to tell. I don't have anymore information about this than you do." said Tonks. The usual cheery bright haired witch was now sitting at her desk, arrayed with a normal face and withering dark hair.

"If that was true, there wouldn't even be an Order of the Phoenix. Come on, Tonks, you're more my friend than you are my teacher. This is Harry I'm talking about. He shouldn't have to stay in Azkaban because he didn't do anything wrong."

Tonks sighed, "Unfortunately, he did, Ginny. He used the Cruciatus Curse on Draco Malfoy."

"So you think Harry deserves to be in prison?"

"No! Of course not! But rules are rules, and the Ministry can't change them just for Harry."

Ginny couldn't believe it. Didn't anyone care about Harry? "What about the prophecy?" Ginny decided to take another approach, "How is Harry going to kill Voldemort if he's locked up in prison? Did anyone think of that when they let Harry go?"

"Calm down Ginny. I understand you're upset. We all are. This is a huge event, and it is not my call. I am a member of the Order so I can't give you secret information. Dumbledore is there at Azkaban with him, and he will figure out how to get Harry out."

Ginny doubted it. The scene from earlier had not left her mind, where she had witnessed Dumbledore do absolutely nothing when Harry had advanced to attack Malfoy. She knew Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard in the world, but if he couldn't stop Harry from attacking Malfoy, then how could he get him out Azkaban?

Ginny couldn't put her finger on it, but something strange was going on. The way Harry's anger had taken control of him like that and made him use an Unforgivable Curse just was not the usual Harry. Sure, she had seen him furious at times over the littlest things, but what he had done today was extreme. The only time that had happened before was on that day back at Grimmauld's Place during winter vacation when he'd used the Cruciatus Curse on Hermione and had fortunately missed. He sure like the Cruciatus Curse…she wondered if he had ever practiced using it before, and if he had, he was just plain stupid. _Look where it got him…_

"Are you alright Gin?" said Tonks, giving her a sympathetic look.

Ginny wiped her eyes and nodded. I can't let my emotions take over me. She thanked Tonks (for nothing, apparently), and left her office feeling disappointed. She was bedding on Tonks to help her but now she had lost hope for any teacher assistance.

She had no other option but to go threaten Malfoy and make him tell her what was going on. Ginny was sure that he knew about You-Know-Who's plans and was involved in Harry's 'departure'. She would not have been surprised if he was already a Death Eater, considering that Hermione had found him walking in the woods with a hood on.

Ginny made her way down the castle to the dungeons and then stood in front of Snape's office. The door was locked so there was no way of telling if Snape was in there or wandering about in the castle somewhere. She did not want to imagine what would happen if Snape caught her breaking in his office, but as she pictured Harry helpless in a jail cell, she let go of her hesitance and reached for the doorknob.

The door opened halfway and the first thing that caught her attention was a head of slimy greasy black hair hovering over his desk, examining a wide parched up piece of parchment. Ginny's eyes widened with surprise, and as Snape raised his head, she snapped the door shut. Coming in a state of panic, she ran like the wind right out of the dungeons without bothering to check if Snape was following her. _Well, now there's no chance I'm going to get my hands on some Veritaserum._

Now there was only one option left.

…

It was dark. Late spring air whispered through the windows of Ron's dormitory and brushed through Hermione's chestnut hair as she brought her face up to Ron's. There was a sensation of warmth and protection being together with Ron under his cozy cotton blanket and Hermione had the feeling that if she ever separated from Ron, that sensation would wither away.

She gazed into his eyes. They were so innocent, melting, passionate, full of love, and totally free from sin. Inside, he was still the young boy that always quarreled with her on anything she could think of, and Hermione hoped that that innocence always stayed with him.

"What?" Ron said in a soft voice.

As a response, she waved her hair on his face. Ron tried to blow the hair away but it did not work, and as he moved his hands, Hermione forced them down with hers playfully.

"You're trapped, Ronnie. There is no way out."

"Now, why would I want out?"

Hermione smiled, brushed her hair away, and kissed him intensely for a minute or so before Ron gasped for some breath, "Wow, you're like a superwoman today. Aren't you tired?"

"Nope, but you are." Hermione told him, as she hugged his side so she still faced him.

"Yes, I have to say that I am. I was up all night, trying to cope with my…madness and despair," he said with amusement, "Then Quidditch was a disaster, and now, you've totally worn me out."

She digested his whole sentence but it was as if she had only heard him up to the part where he had spoken the word 'Quidditch'. As soon as realization hit her, she shot up from the bed so instantly that Ron jumped and looked at her with alarm.

"Oh my-"

"God." Ron cut in.

"I am going to kill myself! I forgot everything just like that!"

"What are you on about?"

"Quidditch! Harry! Azkaban! Ginny! Maurader's Map! That's what we were here for, remember?"

"Wow…" Ron sat up, "You're right."

"Great friends we are, huh?" Hermione jumped out of bed and dressed herself as quickly as she could, while throwing Ron his pants as a signal for him to get a move on as well.

A few minutes later, Hermione and Ron were downstairs to find an impatient Ginny walking back and forth in the middle of the common room. She marched towards the two when she caught a glimpse of them.

"They are absolutely right! Love is blind!" declared Ginny.

"Right back at ya, Gin." Ron retorted.

"At least I'm doing something productive that might help Harry get out of that place. I'll do whatever it takes."

"We're sorry, Ginny, we-uh-" Hermione opened her mouth to apologize, but then closed it and blushed.

"I'm happy that you're talking to each other again. Your destiny is fulfilled. Now, can we go fulfill mine?"

Ron snorted, "That sounded so stupid."

"Alright Ginny. What did you find out?" asked Hermione. A shadow of shame covered her face. How could she forget about Harry? Her love for Ron had overpowered her determination to save Harry…she prayed that she would not have to choose one over the other like that one day. She loved Harry, but not the kind of love that she had for Ron. It didn't mean that Harry was second rate to Ron; it just wasn't possible. Both of them were special to her in their own ways, and right now, Harry needed them.

Poor Harry…Hermione couldn't imagine how it would feel to be locked up in Azkaban with the gliding Dementors on the watch all day. Reading about it or hearing about it must have been nothing compared to the real experience. For some reason, Harry's tear stricken face at the Library kept on floating into her head whenever she thought about him. The things he had said about how life was not worth living worried her, and on top of that, Ginny's earlier comment on him almost being an orphan didn't make her feel better about Harry.

Hermione took in Ginny's words carefully, 'I went to Tonks first, but she didn't spill, so then I decided to steal some Veritaserum from Snape's office but he was in there so I ran for it. I hope he didn't follow me. Anyway, then I went near the Slytherin Common Room and just kept my ear out for any interesting conversations or for Malfoy."

"And?" inquired Ron with impatience.

"Well, I found out loads of rubbish like Pansy's with a different guy every night, Goyle still hasn't grown out his baby teeth, Bullstrode eats cat nip for breakfast, lunch, and dinner-"

"Ginny, you're rambling." said Hermione.

"-but didn't find out anything major except that Malfoy's in the Hospital Wing."

"Asshole-"

"Ron." Hermione warned him.

"What? Are you telling me you still think he's good? I know he's behind this. He attacked Harry after he got the Snitch. Why would he do that after they had already won, unless that was his plan to begin with?"

"Don't start fighting again-" said Ginny desperately.

"We're not fighting, only talking it out. I just think we should explore all of the options. Draco is not the only enemy on Harry's list." She truly believed that. Even though he had tried to kiss her back there at Hogwarts for whatever reason, it did not mean that she believed him to be the ultimate evil. Sure, she was angry with him for doing that and being the cause of their fight, but that didn't mean that Hermione should let that take over her better judgment.

"That's true, but Malfoy does have something to do with all of this, I know it."

Hermione had to agree to that. He did have the Dark Mark stamped on him, after all, so even if he did not want to do what the other Death Eaters told him, he still had to. But still, she refused to believe that he was the sole culprit.

"There had to have been some Death Eaters around." said Hermione.

"But how did they know Harry would use an Unforgivable Curse at that exact time? It's not like they knew about Harry's breakdown during vacation." said Ginny.

"Voldemort did," said Hermione, "their minds are connected at times, remember? I'm assuming they used this spell that multiplies a person's anger ten times…I forget what it's called…"

"It doesn't matter what spell they cast on him," Ron pointed out, "all that matters is that we have to beat the shit out of that bastard."

Ginny nodded in agreement but Hermione kept a straight face.

"Please don't defend him."

No matter how much they tried to prove that it was all Draco's fault, her internal judgment told her that he was not completely at fault. Just because Harry was in Azkaban didn't mean that they had to let their emotions get in their way of analyzing the situation.

She didn't want to argue with Ron right after they'd started speaking to each other, but she had to say what she thought, "No, I have to say this. I feel like this has just been bottled up inside of me and whenever I try to convince someone they all just shut me down. All humans should be given a chance. If one can turn evil, then why can't one also turn good? Didn't Snape come back to our side?"

Hermione couldn't believe it. Ron had not made a doubtful noise, smirked, or contradicted her. He was listening.

"He's just like you and me, except that he was brought up differently. I thought it was possible for him to change after seeing what being a follower of Voldemort had done to his father and realizing that he shouldn't go that way. I mean, what is the one thing we know about Dumbledore that makes him stand out from any other witch or wizard?"

"He has a world-record for the longest beard?" said Ginny sardonically.

"He gives people chances and that is what I did."

"Okay, Miss give-a-chance Granger," said Ron, "I can respect that. I'm not sure that I truly believe in him but I'll trust you for it."

Hermione was surprised. She had expected him to argue with her for hours on this but she guessed she was wrong. She went over and hugged him.

Ginny couldn't help but smile.

"So, what's the plan?" said Hermione, as she turned to Ginny again.

"Well, I was hoping you would use your special position to break into Snape's office and-"

"Special position?"

"Head Girl?"

"Oh, yes, that's right."

"And get some Veritaserum. No, actually, get anything lethal or poisoning…we could use it."

"Ginny, I'm not going to poison anyone!"

"You never know. We might need it."

"Alright, then. I'll go in the morning."

…

The vial of Veritaserum in her robe pocket brushed against her skin as she walked to the hospital Wing with frantic feet. Hermione looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her, especially Snape, or any other teacher for that matter. She did not want an impression of a thief in her last days at Hogwarts.

Sunlight streaked through the windows of the Hospital Wing and came straight at her face as she entered the room, hoping that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't kick her out. Hermione wasn't sure how she was going to deal with Malfoy or how she was going to make him talk, but she had to do it either with or without the potion.

Hermione spotted Draco fiddling with quills on the other side of the room. She approached him, and as she was halfway to her destination, a voice rang out, "Miss Granger! You are not allowed to be in here."

Draco's eyes shot up in alarm.

"Why not? You allow visitors." said Hermione.

"I meant friendly visitors, and I doubt you are one to him, so please, you have to leave."

"We have things to discuss that concern with the school. We are the Heads, remember?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "No, I'm afraid I can't let you. He'll be out in three or four days, so you can see him then."

…

It was late evening in the Gryffindor Common Room where Hermione and Ron sat sluggishly on their couch. Hermione's body was sprawled across the couch and her head was on Ron's lap, while Ron was sitting and playing with her bushy/curly hair.

Two full days had passed and they had not gotten anywhere with their plan. Draco was still in the Hospital Wing and no other student seemed to know about what had actually happened to Harry. She was frustrated and desperate. The only way they could have gotten information was to go into the Forbidden Forest and find some Death Eaters to question.

The only positive side she could see was that they would have more time and freedom to investigate after they left Hogwarts in a week or so…well, that was a negative side too…

"Can you believe it…" Hermione opened her eyes and came back and away from her thoughts, "We're not kids anymore. We're leaving this castle next week."

Ron nodded, "Yeah. Time sure has passed by in a flash."

"We're all going our separate ways…" Harry in Azkaban, Hermione in France, and Ron in England.

"You can stay with us at the Burrow, or Headquarters, it depends. We are not separating. Ever."

"I have to go to France to live with my mum. I haven't been home-well, I guess it's _homes_ now-for a long time."

"Switch back and forth, then."

"That would be switching three ways, and I can't do that. Why can't we just…go away far from here, just the two of us, to Australia, China…I'll even take Antarctica…"

"Sounds good to me, although I think we might have to watch out for the evil penguins."

"I wish we could…but it's just a fantasy, not a reality…that would never happen…"

"And what if I made it happen?"

Hermione stared at him, trying to figure out what exactly that sentence meant.


	26. They Need You

Chapter 26

Hermione's eyes jolted open. Her heat slowed down several beats as she took in the real world around her. She never thought how comforting it would be to see a bunk bed above her when she had wanted the top one in the first place. Even this conflicting world was easier to face than to see Ron fall to his death like that over and over again in her dreams.

Why were these dreams following her? Why couldn't they just get out of her head? She felt like punching something. Nothing of the sort had happened so far and it wasn't going to. She had to be sure of that.

_Still…I have to watch over him…not let him out of my sight, and that shouldn't be a problem. _No one could take her Ron away, and if they did, she would strike them off with every single spell that she'd ever heard of and knew.

And what was going to happen to Harry? He had an eve worse danger than Ron. Hermione didn't want to imagine what would happen when Harry confronted Voldemort…Well, that was if he had a chance to. How could he if he was in Azkaban? In one way, that was a good thing because he would be away from harm and Voldemort, but then on the other hand, he would to stay in prison with soul-sucking dementors driving him to insanity. He should get out. That option was much better. As far as she knew, she'd rather live a year with her friends than spend a lifetime in prison, and she was sure that Harry though of it the same way.

That was it. No more time was going to be wasted on finding Draco Malfoy or stealing potions out of teachers' offices. It was time to figure this out on their own.

…

"All right, so what do we know so far?" Hermione laid her eyes upon Ron and Ginny, ignoring the pit-pat noises occurring every two seconds in the background of rotting stalls and the glasses wearing ghost hovering four feet in the air above her sobbing loudly.

"About what happened during the match?" said Ginny.

"That, and everything else about Voldemort, Death Eaters, the stalker who's been following me-"

"Wouldn't that be Malfoy?" Ron cut in.

"No, it's not. I remember the first time I saw him, and that was at the Halloween dance, but I saw Malfoy standing somewhere else…"

"Are you sure?" said Ron doubtfully, and Hermione saw Ginny's same uncertain expression on her face.

"I am absolutely sure." Hermione knew it wasn't him, and she was pretty confident about what she had just figured out when she had been taking a shower.

"Anyway, so I was thinking about this whole ordeal with Voldemort and Harry. What's their ultimate goal? To kill each other, or at least one of them has to kill the other."

"We know that already." Ginny pointed out, but the sobbing Moaning Myrtle whimpered, "My Harry…my Harry…has to kill He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" She fit burst to tears once again.

Ron's face convulsed into confusion as he looked at Hermione, "I don't get it. How does she know about Voldemort if he was after her time?"

"It was more during her time-"

"I hear about it all the time! When girls were in here, they would always talk about how brave Harry was to face He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but now…now look what's happened!"

Hermione took a deep breath. _The last thing we need is a crying ghost on our backs_, she thought.

"As I was saying…maybe Voldemort thinks that he can't kill Harry or doesn't want to take the trouble of dueling with him, considering what happened last time. What if he just wanted Harry out of the way?"

"By what, landing him in Azkaban?" said Ron.

"Exactly."

Ginny hugged herself as if she was uncomfortable and jittery in the bathroom, and Hermione couldn't blame her. Ginny said, "It makes sense."

Ron, however, shook his head, "That doesn't follow the prophecy, though. They _have _to kill one or the other."

"I thought about that too, and that's where this Crystal comes in. Only the heirs of Slytherin and Gryffindor can touch it after it's handed down by the Keeper. My theory is that Voldemort's planning to wait by that Crystal and if Harry ever gets out, he will…kill him." Moaning Myrtle squealed horribly at this.

"But then…then, if that's true, then their plan is already working!" Ron stuttered.

"So far it is, but Voldemort is not going to get his hands on that Crystal until he has their Keeper, and I don't know if they do or not. All I know is that Harry has to get out of Azkaban."

"WHAT?" Ginny jumped, "If Voldemort's planning to kill him, he's better off in prison!"

"I can't believe you, of all people, is saying this. You were the one who went on investigation-"

"If it keeps him alive, then he should stay there. I didn't know about this before."

"Hermione is right, Gin," Ron intervened, "it doesn't matter if Voldemort is after him or not. In face, he's been on his tail for the past seven years, so it doesn't make the situation any different now."

"Ginny, if Harry is stuck in jail, Voldemort will have the upper hand since no one else can defeat him, not even Dumbledore."

"It has to happen on day…Harry has to fight him." said Ron, making a sort of rhythmic tune as his voice blended with Myrtle's sobs.

"Fine. I just don't want him to-"

"We know." said Hermione.

Ginny stared at the moldy floor for a few seconds before she spoke, "So…what do we do now?"

"Now that I don't know." said Hermione, folding her arms and turning her head in thought.

"Why doesn't the Order go to the place where the Crystal is and guard it?"

"They already guard it…two of them died guarding it…" said Hermione heavily.

"We tell Dumbledore, or McGonagall, if Dumbledore's not here." Ginny suggested.

"Dumbledore is smart enough to know that. He's probably known it, and I'm betting he knows a lot more about this or he would not let Death Eaters run around the Forbidden Forest or put the most powerful object in a ten kilometer radius of Harry."

Ron and Ginny both nodded in agreement.

"Now, all we can do is wait until we get out of this castle, because we can't do anything major without Apparating or lack of communication with the Ministry or the Order. And speaking of the Order, once we get out, we'll be old enough to join the Order."

…

"Wait! Hold on there. Where do you think you're going?" Hermione grabbed Ron's arm as he started walking the other way of the corridor.

"We're having a sort of farewell Quidditch match."

"What?" Hermione said in astonishment, "How can you play Quidditch after what happened?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "It wasn't my idea. It was Katie's."

"Then don't go." ordered Hermione.

"I have to. There has to be a Keeper or there is no game, and besides, it's only the Gryffindors playing, not Slytherins."

"Don't go." Hermione repeated, but with a softer tone this time, and hugged him.

"Come with me. You can watch us play." said Ron.

"I can't. I have duties to get to soon." Hermione groaned. She didn't want to leave Ron by himself outside and exposed to danger.

"Then come after you're done."

"Alright," she gave him a kiss, "Just be cautious."

"I will."

…

It was time for Hermione's last duties as Head Girl, and for it she had to prepare the letters that were to go out to the new students in the summer. This reminded her of the day when she had gotten hers when she was eleven. First, she had taken it as some sort of prank, and when she had not answered it, another one had arrived the next day. That letter was the portal to the magical world and she would have never known that she would have ended up the way she was: an established witch instead of an established Muggle student.

As Hermione went into McGonagall's Transfiguration room, she wondered how many letters and envelopes there were for her to insert and stamp. She had to admit that it was boring and tiring doing all these duties by herself.

But this changed when a person with sleek blond hair and blue eyes trotted into the classroom. Hermione stole a look at Draco and saw that he seemed somewhat thinner than before. She quickly turned as he caught her eye, and went back to rummaging through McGonagall's additional desk for the letters.

"Hello."

Just because she had hope for him didn't mean that she wasn't angry with hi, and with each step he took, the feeling of intimidation in her rose.

"Stay away from me."

"What?"

"Don't come any closer." Hermione faced him again and that kiss flashed through her mind. She wiped it away and put up a strong front.

"Stop being ridiculous." he said, coming closer to about a foot in front of her, "Let's get this done quickly."

"Just don't come near me." Hermione produced her wand and pointed it at Draco. He stepped back, gazed at the wand, and then came into realization as he saw the look on her face.

"Ohh, right. About that, well, uh, I-"

"I don't want an explanation. I want you to sit over there," she aimed her wand at the desk in the back of the classroom, "and take care of half of the letters."

She definitely did not want an explanation, because an explanation involved an answer to her question which had been haunting her inside but had never come out.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No." Hermione kept her eyes on the desk.

"Fine then." He snatched the letters from the desk and stormed off. He caressed his arm as if it hurt. A light flicked on in Hermione's brain and she threw her backpack onto the desk, took the Veritaserum in her hand, and hid it behind her.

"Hey," she called to him as he pulled out the chair to take a seat, "I'm ready to listen."

"Oh really?"

"Really," she nodded, twirling the potion in her hands, "But you can still stay there."

He rolled his eyes, "Fine. All I wanted to say is that I'm sorry for what happened."

"And which offense are you referring to? When you came on me like that and inflict hell between me and Ron? Or is it for attacking Harry and sending him to Azkaban?"

"I didn't inflict hell, and perhaps you weren't at the match because it was clearly Potter who attacked me."

"You attacked him first, though, and-"

"I had to. He was in my way-"

"-you cast some sort of anger spell on him."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did. Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying! I would never lie!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes in disbelief, and he continued, "Fine, I would lie, but I'm not lying now. I didn't put him under any spell."

"Were you ordered to provoke Harry into using the Cruciatus Curse so he could be sent to Azkaban and Voldemort could carry on with his plans?"

Draco laughed, "I thought I was apologizing. How did this turn into an inquiry?"

"Just answer the question," she brought forward the Veritaserum, "Or I'm forcing this down your throat."

"You can't."

"Watch me."

"Fine," he stretched out his legs, "Can I at least come up there and talk? I feel like I'm in the Great Hall."

"No." She put down the Veritaserum on the desk and folded her arms. "Now tell me. Was that your plan?"

"Part of it."

"And what is the other part?"

"The part you probably haven't figured out yet."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

"You know," Hermione started, as she picked up the vial again, "I could have you locked up in Azkaban in a flash. All I would have to do is bring one of the teachers here to hear it from your mouth that you're a Death Eater."

"At the expense of them finding out that you were snooping in Snape's potions?" Draco smirked.

Hermione flew up her wand and shrieked, "_Car-"_

"OKAY OKAY!" Draco Malfoy shielded his face.

"Spill." Hermione ordered him with her wand still armed. He lowered his arms and took a deep breath, "I can't tell you everything or I'll get my head cut off. All I can say is that they're trying to get to you too."

Her stalker immediately came to mind and finally she was going to learn more about him, "Get to me…do you mean to kill me, capture me, or capture and then kill me?"

Draco didn't answer.

"Come on, you can answer that."

"I'm not sure. Both, I guess."

Somehow, that did not surprise or scare her. What was she to expect from Voldemort and the Death Eaters?

"But why? It doesn't make sense at all. Why do they need me? I don't have anything to do with-"

"From what I've been told, you do. That's why they've been on your trail for so long."

"Why didn't they kidnap me then? I must have been alone outside loads of times, come to think of it."

Draco shook his head, "You were always with lover boy Ron so they couldn't get to you."

It was Hermione's turn to laugh, "Are you telling me that a full grown wizard couldn't handle two teenagers?"

"If both of you were captured then Potter would think both of his friends were missing, whereas if it was just you, they'd think you had buried yourself in a book."

"Which brings us back to my original question. Why do they need me?"

"I can't tell you that."

Hermione groaned with frustration. She tried approaching this a different way, "All right. How are they planning to get to me now?"

Draco stared at her seriously for a few seconds and when Hermione motioned him to go on, he said, "I don't want to tell you."

"Don't want to, or can't?"

"Don't want to."

"Why?"

"You'll freak."

"Damn you, Draco! Would you just say it!"

Draco's eyes rose at her outburst. He hesitated for a moment, gazed at her, and then said one simple word, "Weasley."


	27. Emptiness

CHAPTER 27

The word echoed through her ears like a vibrating singing sound that played over and over again. No matter how much she tried to shoo the word away, it came back to her, creeping through her skin, striking her heart with full force.

She could feel it, but she couldn't think and put it together. Her brain had not yet administered what Draco had just said. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? They need him to get to you." Draco slouched back in the usual three-legged oak chair and put his arms up behind his head without a worry in the world.

_He is lying!_ She told herself. Her head swirled steadfast like a Ferris wheel, upturning all of her thoughts and judgments. This was Draco Malfoy sitting in front of her. The Draco Malfoy who had the Dark Mark stamped on his forearm and pure Slytherin and Death Eater blood flowing in his veins. Why should she trust him? For the past six years, all he had done was badger her, Harry, and Ron. All those times she'd been internally stabbed by the word 'Mudblood' flashed through her mind once again. For a second, as she witnessed him caressing himself comfortably in his seat, Hermione felt the need to sprint up to him and strangle him with her bare hands.

"Stop staring at me."

"You're lying."

"Why would I do that? I'm telling you for your own benefit. You should thank me."

"You're lying." She repeated herself.

"There's this concept called self-denial. You are the smartest girl in the year. Figure it out. But in the meantime, you have to help me with these."

There might as well have been a blockage in her ears from then on because whatever Draco had just said had drifted away like the aroma of cheap perfume and the burning dread once sharp inside her that had cooled off came back to her again. That dream. The dream that she had been having for the past year as a type of premonition or a subconscious trying to show her something. Ron's lifeless body flashed through her mind.

Drace clapped a few times to snap her back from her reverie. When she did, she faced Draco and said, "Where is Ron?"

Draco shrugged, "How am I supposed to know? All I was told was that they changed their plan and decided to use Weasley to lure you."

His words drowned as her thoughts dominated. Where would Ron be right now? She gripped her hair tight in avid frustration. Was she losing her goddamn memory?

But as her eyes traveled past Draco to the classic style window, the outside scenery triggered her memory and she remembered that Ron was playing Quidditch. The image of Harry encircled with a host of Ministry officials struck her home. Her head turned to the exit and even before her brain processed, her feet moved automatically to the door.

"Whoa, where are you going? I'm not doing all of these myself!"

"That's right," Hermione sidetracked her route by going to Draco, gripped a hold of his robes, and pulled him up, "because you are coming with me."

"What? Where?" Draco brushed her hands off in vexation as they headed out the door. Hermione flicked her wand at the classroom to turn off all of the burning lamps and then mumbled "_Aholomora_" and the door banged shut.

"If he's not on the Quidditch field safe and sound, I will kill you."

"No you won't."

"Yes I will."

"You're just saying that because you're angry. You can't kill me. You're too good."

"Just shut up and follow me."

With swift feet, Hermione walked past the corridors and down the mobile staircases. She felt as if there was a red danger signal inside of her that was just bursting to shine fully. The closer she got to her destination, the brighter that light became. Ron had to be there, she told herself. After all, all of the Quidditch players were near him, not to mention Madam Hooch, so what could go wrong?

Draco shuffled his feet behind her, and when she turned around to keep a check on him, she found him slacking ten feet behind her. Retracing her steps, Hermione grabbed a handful of his robes and forced him ahead.

"Pardon you?" Draco spoke, raising his eyes at her. She ignored him, of course.

"Get your hands off me!" Hermione looked at him quizzically, and when he produced his opposite hand and made an attempt to shove her hands off of him, Hermione let go. She had not even realized what she was doing. For a second, her eyes had seen Ron, instead of Draco, next to her, and that's why she had held him as tight as possible.

"Sorry." Hermione mumbled.

"Are you ever going to tell me where we're going? Or is this a permanent walkathon?"

"I'm really worried…what if he isn't there?"

"Isn't where, for Merlin's sake!"

"The Quidditch field. He told me they were going to play a sort of farewell game. What a stupid idea! Especially when there are Death Eaters on the loose and after what happened with Harry! Madam Hooch must have lost her mind when she agreed to it. Oh my god…I should've just went with him to watch the game when he asked me instead of being a good girl and doing my duties with _you. _But seriously, if he is not there, I am going to murder you for ever working with the dark side and then acting innocent in front of me!"

"I already told you why I do that. It's simple. If I don't do what they tell me to do, they will kill me."

"Then die and be courageous instead of living your life in pleasing others and doing things you don't believe in.

This time it was Draco to remain silent.

Hermione reached it at last. She took no notice of the ominous gray sky above her or the cold-as-autumn wind brushing her face as she scanned the vast ground for a hint of red. She saw the red and gold striped robes that the players were dressed in. She spotted Ginny immediately, hovering in air on her broom with her prolonged hair flying to the right. The rest of the players were also in midair, the Chaser named Mason heaving a Quaffle at Ginny and back.

Hermione did not see him. She did not see his tall and dominating figure combined with his ruffly red hair shining like rubies against the vibrant rays of sunlight. She told herself not to panic. He could be anywhere. In the seats, in the castle, anywhere, and as long as he was safe, she would feel fine.

However, Hermione had to know where he was. She motioned Draco to follow her, and he folded his arms in attitude.

"Do I want to get beaten to the bone by them? I don't think so. I'm fine here." He brushed his foot against the grass.

"No, no, no. You are coming with _me._" She almost extended her hand out to pull him but retreated halfway.

"Ginny!" Hermione called out to her. She didn't hear at first, but when Hermione brandished her wand and produced miniature green sparks over Ginny's head, she came into attention.

"WHAT?"

"Where is Ron?" _Take deep breaths_, she told herself.

"He went back inside to polish his broom. Said it wasn't _shiny_ enough." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She replied brusquely, with her attention not fully on Hermione as her eyes were going left and right around the field. However, when Hermione stood there with her arms jittering nervously on her sides, Ginny finally looked at her straight in the eye and said, "What…?" And then, of course, her eyes traveled past her and to Draco.

"Oh nooo! If you find making fun of our team as a type of entertainment, then that is just wrong, Hermione. This is probably the last chance we have of having fun with everything that's been happening around here-"

"He's NOT here to make fun of you. Did you not notice his silence?"

"It would be better if I didn't have to take notice of him at all." Ginny folded her arms in midair.

"We're going to go find him then. Go on with your game. Sorry for interrupting."

"It's alright." Ginny was about to turn but stopped, "Why are you looking for him anyhow? Especially with him."

"I will tell you later. Go on with your game."

With that, Hermione and Draco walked on to the Gryffindor team room. Hermione did want to tell Ginny what was going on but knew that it would just worry her, and why go to the trouble of doing that when she herself wasn't sure if what Draco had said was true. If Ginny had said that he was in the changing rooms then he must be.

The door opened and a wave of emptiness came from it…


	28. Into The Forest

Chapter 28

The locker room was desolate as an ancient desert, no movement, no sound, nothing. Even the vibe of Gryffindor spirit Hermione used to feel when she entered its presence was not there. It was as if an ominous voice was lingering in the air, telling her to run, run as fast as she could. Hermione could feel that dread coming back into her heart and stomach, and right when it was about to spread throughout the rest of her body and make her panic, she punched this so-called dread right out of her system. Gradually, it left her second by second until her mind was focused to the image in front of her. She had to be calm about this whole situation. Hadn't she learned from past experiences that the worst thing to do in a dilemma like this was to lose sanity and do something she'd later regret? Hermione knew she was smart enough not to run off on a wild goose chase to look for Ron, and she would not leave the grounds and get anyone in trouble. Being calm and logical was the key. There could be a thousand different places he could be, couldn't he? This was Hogwarts, after all.

But as Hermione waited there, listening to the sound of void, nothing moved or made a sound around her, she became worried. This was the only place that he could be in and…he wasn't. She turned to look at Draco and found him staring at her.

"Now what?" she spoke in a panicky voice so loud that a noise did echo from the locker room. Out of nowhere, Filch emerged at the doorway, his normal eye focusing on Draco and the icy blue glass eye on Hermione.

"What are you two doing here?" Filch growled, as he stood in front of them.

"Oh-uh, we were just looking for Ron-Weasley. Have you seen him?"

He smiled nastily, "Oh yes, I sent that hooligan in the forest."

"Why?" She demanded rather rudely, adding, "Sir?"

"He gave me a rather nasty attitude so I made him go do a nasty job himself."

Draco spoke for the first time, "Which is…?"

"Never you mind, you'd better be getting along or I'll send you in there as well!" He motioned us away, but Hermione didn't budge. This was the perfect chance to go after him and make sure he was safe.

"No, we wanted to look in there for something. So can you move aside?"

"No, I do not think I can. Are you on a Quidditch team?"

"No."

"Therefore you're not allowed to ride a broom. Now move along before I become angry."

Hermione couldn't believe she was doing this. After taking a deep breath, she said, "No. I want to ride, and I will."

The look on Draco's face was priceless. Hell, she was even amazed by herself.

Filch's eyes cringed dangerously and his upper lip bended to one side. She had to admit she was scared of that look, but she stood there nevertheless, waiting for her punishment.

"That's it! I'm tired of you filthy kids! In the forest! I want you to collect a hundred sprigs of chamomile root! And that goes for you too!" He turned to Draco, flashing with anger, and then he was off, just assuming they would do what he told them.

"Finally. That was easy." Hermione marched in the direction of the forest.

Draco followed him, "I can NOT believe you just did that. Of all people, you."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Hermione felt a little better because at least she knew where he was. Now all she had to do was get him out of there. The Forbidden Forest was the last place she wanted him to be in.

And off they were, strolling across the grounds until they finally got to the forest. Luckily, it was a clear day, and best of all, it wasn't humid. A few spotted clouds were in the air but most of the sky was clear for now. The tower of trees were mostly stable and Hermione could barely feel them brush her shoulders as she entered the Forbidden Forest. Even though she had only been in there twice, she felt like she had visited it every day, or rather her dreams.

Draco was unusually quiet behind her, and she assumed he was scared of the forest. When she turned around, she found that she was right. He had a look of pure horror that said "I'd be anywhere else but here".

"You okay?"

"Can I-" Draco began to say, but Hermione cut him off, "No."

"Come on…I'm wasting precious time by being here when I could be back in my Common Room with the stunning sixth year I met this morning-"

"Draco."

"What?"

"Do you really think I dragged you along so I could hear your macho romantic stories?"

"Fine. Don't listen."

"Thank you."

Moments of silence passed them as they went deep into the forest. She didn't know if it was ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes. She even called his name a few times but was stopped by Draco, warning her that she could get herself killed. What could she do in this time? Recklessness was a given.

A vast rift of clouds drifted across the sky, shadowing over Hermione in more ways than visible. For the first time in her life, she didn't have an answer for obstacles coming her way, and what was more, she was scared. Scared like she had never been before. The two most important people in her life had disappeared and she didn't know what to do. Any memories before the junction of the golden trio were a blur. They were always together, facing life with companionship, but now?

Her first instinct was to fall to the ground, curl up into a ball and pour her heart out on her own sleeve because she didn't have anyone else to pour it, and that was what she did. Her tears were not noisy but nevertheless made Draco step back, looks of surprise and slight intimidation written on his face.

Ron…where was he? It seemed like moments to her that they had made up after their fight and already, they were apart, but this wasn't just an ordinary departure. Her body was telling her this, as well as the danger that Ron was in. How was she ever going to find him? What if he was dead? It was a possibility, even definite. There were Death Eaters lurking around the forest and who knew where Voldemort was? She was never going to see him again.

Hermione didn't have to look at Draco's face to know that he was terrified by her outburst of tears. What could she do? If these tears stayed inside her, she would burst. She couldn't help control them anymore than she could control this whole debacle. She wanted to be left alon, the only accompaniment being her tears.

"Go away."

"You're the one who brought me here."

"Please." Once could clearly hear the tone of desperation in her voice. She heard his foot trace back a step, but made an abrupt stop.

"No. You forced me to come with you so I'm not leaving. And besides, look at you. I can't leave you here like this in a dangerous place."

Slowly, her hands parted from her face which was hidden behind her curls of busy hair. Hermione sat halfway on her knees, sniffing and wiping her eyes along the way, while her vision cleared, she saw something strange happen to Draco. One second he was gazing at her and the next, he jumped like a monkey, his face convulsing in pain. It was strange but she didn't make much out of it then.

"Come on. I have a plan." Draco said.

"What? What is it?"

"I know where they are."

"So do I." said Hermione, her voice finally back to normal.

"How?"

"Doesn't matter, but if we go in there, you'll get killed if they see you with me."

"And what makes you think you won't get killed if they see a Mudblo-I mean, Muggleborn strolling the woods?"

"I'm more advanced in magic."

"Yes, but they know and trust me."

"You sure about that?"

"Positive."

"But if you go in there and ask about Ron they'll be suspicious. I'm assuming they're all skilled at Legilimency."

"Don't worry. I'm good at blocking that. Alright then," he said, looking like he was ready for traveling, "I'll be back in no time, and you should go back to the castle." He strolled forward, and instantly, Hermione purged up and grabbed him.

"You really think you're going to go alone? I'm coming, of course."

He looked hesitant to say something, "That's not a good idea."

"Yes it is. A pair is stronger than a single person."

"How will we explain that if we run into them?"

Hermione reeled her brain for a solution. If they found Draco and her, surely they would die, but…she had it! If Draco pretended to bring her hostage and told them she knew the contents of the prophecy, they wouldn't be hurt. She told Draco this and at first, he was somewhat reluctant to do this, but in the end he agreed. However, something else came to her mind that should have come before. The teachers didn't know!

"Wait. We should tell McGonagall what's going on."

"No." Draco blurted out. Hermione frowned, "Why?"

He regained his poise immediately, "Because if we tell them, they'll make us stay here and you'll never be able to save him in time. They'll see the teachers as a threat and kill him."

There was some truth to that, but if they went alone…she wasn't worried about her own life, but the people around her. If Voldemort found out the prophecy, Harry would be in danger. If she didn't confess, Ron would be in danger, and if they saw through their plan, Draco would be in danger. Whatever she decided, she needed to do it fast.

…

Ron's eyes opened to the world around him, except that he wasn't exposed to the Quidditch field as he had expected, but to a vast field of greenery. He didn't have to guess twice to figure out where he was. Tall trees surrounded him, blocking almost all of the sunlight that that day had shined down on him earlier. He felt very uncomfortable, sticky in the extra moist atmosphere, and his head hurt terribly.

The Forbidden Forest had not been friendly to him before, remembering how his Dad's car had been crushed into pieces by the Whomping Willow, and he had almost been eaten by a huge herd of spiders. What had he gotten into this time?

Ron moved his eyes left to right and saw no one in sight. He could tell he was in the deep end of the forest but how he had gotten there was beyond him. As his foot moved forward, a sudden sting stung him in his foot, and electrified through the rest of his body. He jumped and cried, his foot curling up from the pain. Ron tried to move again but failed. There was some type of force field or barrier around him that was keeping him trapped there in the middle of the trees.

How did he end up all the way there? The last thing he remembered was him entering the forest and walking into depth for about five minutes, collecting those damn herbs that Filch wanted. Something had happened, but he couldn't remember what…Did someone strike him down and put him here? If that was the case, then who? The only reasonable choice would be Filch himself since he had been annoying him to wits end, but would he really go to that extent to punish him?

Ron began to feel as uncomfortable inside as he did outside. He wanted out, but it wasn't going to happen by yelling. He looked at his clothes, made an attempt to touch his robe pockets, but his wand wasn't there. A second later he remembered that it was in his school robes, and right now he was dressed in his Quidditch robes.

He waited and waited, but nothing came.

…

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Draco?" Hermione ducked from the low dangling branches. There were cuts all over her upper body now, her fresh blood oozing out from all places. Her wand was equipped and she was alert.

"Yeah." He whispered softly.

She had chosen to trust him after all, and it wasn't all based on that. She had to make sure Ron was safe and she couldn't wait for the teachers to come and look for him.

Draco and Hermione didn't talk for the rest of the time they were searching for Ron. Hermione was too anxious to talk, and even though she seemed calm and controlled on the outside, she knew that wasn't the case internally. Her heart craved to see Ron. Never in her life had she felt this desperation of separation from him.

"Hermione." said Draco, interrupting her thoughts. "What?"

"I see him."

"Really?" She said a bit too loud, "Where?"

"Shhhh." He motioned her to follow him and she obeyed. As they passed the jumble of trees, Hermione's vision cleared. She saw him. He was standing in an empty space, with his hands awkwardly bent to the back and his feet were apart. He looked utterly exhausted.

Hermione's heart jumped with joy as she practically sprinted to him. She heard Draco follow her.

"Oh Ron! We looked everywhere for you!"

His droopy eyes elevated and he smiled in relief when he saw her, "Hermione-"

"Well, well, well." A voice rang out. Hermione turned instantly to see who it was, but as soon as she did, she wished she hadn't.

"Excellent work, my nephew." said the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange.


	29. Trapped

"No!" bellowed Hermione, flashing her wand and screaming, "_Stup-_"

"_Commissura!_" Bellatrix shouted over her, and before Hermione knew it, she was trapped. Every inch of her boy stuck against an invisible force as strong as metal, hurting her as she punched a shoulder to one side. This couldn't be happening. She didn't want to face it but betrayal was standing in front of her. Hermione stared at the unguilty face as hard as she could, trying to extract feelings of guilt but none came.

Hermione waited for more Death Eaters to arrive, but they didn't. She was horribly afraid that even a single move would inflict the worst consequences so she stayed still and racked her brains thoroughly in hope of coming up with a plan.

"Don't bother." Bellatrix spoke, her chiller voice putting a lump in Hermione's throat, "There's no way you're getting out this time. No teachers," she called for her wand, flying towards her instantly, no wands, and most importantly, no bitty baby Harry Potter to save you."

The last thing she needed was a Legilimens on her case, she thought, but wished she hadn't because Bellatrix would've heard that too. She looked to her right to find Ron looking back at her. What now?

…

Darkness engulfed the forest, spread rapidly over the widespread trees, and encountered Hermione's heart, shocking her whole body like a strong electrical current attacking the water. She didn't know whether the figure in front of her was real or a mere allusion aimed to frighten her, but no matter what she perceived, Bellatrix Lestrange faced her. It had been two minutes or so since she had captured Ron and Hermione, and now she eyed Hermione as if she were her prey, with narrowed and lifeless portals of vision. Fright panged Hermione. Bellatrix smiled with satisfaction and took a step to her right. Hermione observed her adversary. She looked hollow, with banshee-like long black hair and pale and sallow skin, giving her the appearance of a shriveled vampire. If it was even possible, she looked more confident in her gait than the last time Hermione had laid her eyes on her.

"Good work." Bellatrix repeated, patting Draco on the shoulder, and he folded his arms and grinned. Hermione knew it was finally time to consider that a real grin, and not a fake one as she had thought before. Why hadn't she listened to Ron? If she had, none of this would have happened…

Hermione met Ron's gaze, and both said the same thing: they were not going to get out of this one, at least not without outside help.

"I cannot tell you how long I have been waiting for this. The Dark Lord will be much pleased to hear she has arrived. It does not matter now how long it took to capture her, that's all in the past. Now, Draco, go inform the Dark Lord of her arrival."

Draco revealed a puzzled face, "Oh, I think you should."

Bellatrix raised her eyebrows, "Are you objecting to my order?"

"No, of course not. I mean, I'm new to this and he might not trust me. You should go."

"What makes you think I trust you?"

"Because you're a Black, my mother's sister, my aunt. We're blood related. You have to trust me. Don't you?" He added at the end, with a bit of apprehension.

Bellatrix surveyed him suspiciously for a few moments, but then spoke, "Fine, then. I'll go, but keep an eye on them, or you'll get a beating out of me just like last time."

"Understood." Draco said, raising his wand towards Ron and Hermione.

Bellatrix Disapparated with a crack, condemning the three of them alone. Hermione felt a bit more optimistic. If they could somehow trick Draco into getting them out of the bind, they could escape.

It was an awkward moment. Draco footed across the sharp blades of grass while Ron and Hermione watched him carefully. None of them uttered a word, but the deadly sentiments were present in the air anyhow.

Hermione racked her brain and the best she could come up with was, "Great plan, huh Draco? Oh, sorry. I believe it's back to Malfoy now."

Draco sensed the sarcasm in her voice but didn't say anything.

"How did you know I was here?" Ron whispered.

"Filch." She replied abruptly, "Help me. Think of something."

"What was that?" Draco pried, but they ignored him. Something clicked in Ron as he said, "Wandless-magic."

Setting aside her disbelief of having forgotten she could do that, Hermione moved her wrist slightly to aim at Draco. The spell stung, but she didn't yell. Come on, come on.

Letting all the pain go, she snapped her fingers, making the wand fly out of Draco's hand straight into hers. They were both free as soon as she muttered the counter curse to the Disapparation Jinx, and immediately after that, she had Draco in a bind. Unknowingly, she dropped his wand. He struggled and protested, "You're mistaken! I'm on your side! You'll see why I did that!"

"Shut up before I curse you." Ron threatened.

"You trust me, don't you Hermione?"

"Let's go, Hermione. We should get out of here. Don't listen to him anymore." Ron joined his hand with hers.

"I won't." Hermione too turned, but when Draco spoke, she stopped, "There's a reason why you two were brought here. It has to do with Potter."

"What do you mean?"

"You mean you brought us here." Ron spat, "You're just saying all this bullshit to get out. You deserve to rot here and let them find you like this. Luckily I'm not hurting you because-"

"You know I'm not lying."

"Right." He lead Hermione the other way, "Come on, before you get hurt."

"Wait." Hermione said, and then faced Draco, "What about Harry?"

"Hermione. Have you lost your mind? You're still listening to what hey says?"

"He said Harry, Ron! Alright Draco. Spill it."

"No. They'll know, and then they'll kill me."

"Typical." Ron commented.

"See, we will kill you before they even get here. Now talk." Hermione said, "And why do they need me?"

"I think they'll tell you that, but about Potter…See, the Dark Lord and Potter are the only two who can get their hands on the Crystal of Invincibility, so, he tricked Harry into cursing me with an Unforgivable Curse so he would get sent to Azkaban, considering that he is seventeen years old now. He was gone, and Voldemort's plan was as clear as water, until they learned that they need you to open the Crystal. As in effect, I lead you here."

"To die?" Ron spat, "What does she have anything to do with any of this? The prophecy is about Harry and Voldemort, not Hermione."

"I can't tell you that. My tongue's protected from it."

Similar to the Fidelus Charm, Hermione thought. As much as she wanted to know what her role was in all of this, she needed to get Ron and herself out to safety before the other Death Eaters came, especially Voldemort.

"Hermione, we should leave. We'll take care of Harry later."

As she retraced her steps, Hermione felt like she was turning away from a significant part of her life. The way Draco stared at her was undeniably haunting and alluring her to return. She had to do something there, but she couldn't betray Ron again. Hastily, Ron and Hermione crossed through the bushes and trees.

As they were going, Hermione saw a chipmunk breezing across the ground, reminding Hermione of something.

"Wait." Hermione whispered, touching Ron.

"For Merlin's sake, what now?"

"We should stay and see what happens," before Ron had a chance to open his mouth, she jumped in, "I'll turn into a cat-"

"What about me?"

"Uh…I'll make you invisible."

"You can do that?" Ron asked in surprise.

Hermione nodded, and looked at her hand for Draco's wand but it wasn't there. She realized she had dropped it near him. Well, she couldn't go back for it now. She would have to use wandless magic on him.

She pointed a finger at him, and flicked it. In a fleeting second, he vanished out of sight, or more took the color of his background, as she had performed a Disillusionment Charm. In a few minutes, they returned to the clearing where Draco was still wrapped in the Jinx. Anxiously, they hid behind a thick tree.

"Won't he know it's you?" said Ron, next to her.

"Not if we keep our distance, and besides, he couldn't expect us to come back."

"This is so uncomfortable."

"I know, but we've got to know what they are up to-"

"No, this invisibility thing. I was always used to wearing the cloak."

"Shh…and stay still as much as you can."

Hermione heard distinct footsteps and men's tongues closing in on the spot. That was her signal to transform.

"Listen." Her whiskers twitched slightly as she touched the bark, keeping in disguise. Lucius Malfoy was the first one she spotted. He didn't have his hood on, but he wore black robes like the rest of the Death Eaters. Hermione couldn't see Voldemort amongst them, unless he had gone invisible as well. She was waiting anxiously for the moment, staring in front of her, when they would find that they were gone. She recognized many faces, including Crabbe and Goyle's fathers, Macnair, Antonio Dolohov, and of course, Bellatrix Lestrange at the end of the line.

They passed Ron and her, and instantaneously, an uproar burst in the air, emitting shouts of, "Where is she!"

Hermione felt quite satisfied to see them lose control, knowing that they needed her for whatever reason.

"Bella! You fool!" Lucius Malfoy raged, his jaw clenching with anger, "How could you let them go! And you!" He swiveled to Draco, "Shame of a son, why are you standing there like an idiot!"

"Dad, she Jinxed me!"

"How dare you call me a fool!" Bellatrix flashed, "It's because of your son that she's now free. The weakling couldn't even handle a Mudblood!"

"Forget that now!" Lucius came back to attention, fully alert, his eyes roaming his surroundings. "They can't be far. Split up. You three, to the left. You, you, and you, to the right. And the rest with me. Come, Bella." He added, as she was approaching Draco with her wand raised.

"What about me?" Draco whimpered rather in a fake sense.

"Stay there. You're no use to us." Lucius said.

"Hermione." Ron breathed, and she replied, "What?"

"Look. I'm showing." He was right. His vivid red hair shined in the gloom following with his face and the rest of his body.

"Do it again."

Hermione blinked, "Alright." With all her concentration and focus on him, she tried to make him invisible again, but it didn't work. She didn't have that much power left in order to perform wandless magic.

"It's not working." Ron said, in a panicky voice.

"I know. Hide." She transformed back into a cat and waited anxiously as the Death Eaters passed them. Hermione couldn't hear herself breath or feel Ron behind her. How long would they have to wait here?

…

A plate, filled with a bowl of soup and wheat bread, clattered noisily onto the floor, inside the barriers of the prison. Harry laid his eyes on the only piece of life he'd since for days. His name was Romero, the man who delivered Harry's food twice a day, and like Harry, he had moderate curly black hair. Countless times Harry had seen him sneak in the low areas where the dementors couldn't spot him. He was terrified of them.

Harry felt hollow inside, like an orange with no pulp or a watermelon without its countless seeds. Seventeen years of emotion and happiness had reddened him in mere days. The dementors would walk by his prison almost every five minutes, their cloak-like exteriors brushing against the jail bars, frightening Harry even though he wasn't touched by them. His head felt light, as if nothing useful was left inside of it. Vague memories of Ron and Hermione remained, and the day he had kissed Ginny for the first time, or when he had found out that Sirius was on his said and his godfather. Everything else was a blur.

Harry had his wand next to him surprisingly, but it was no use to him. The prison was protected against any type of magic. Every day he made fresh attempt to escape, but it never worked. Whether he liked it or not, he was stuck here for life. He would have done anything to see light, real people, real places, anything except for this. He didn't like to admit it, but he cried every day. Cried and pitied himself, cried for his nonexistent family, cried for his own existence. He'd rather be dead than suffer in this hell called prison. That pity quickly into anger. Anger against his life, against the world. Why did he have to be trapped in here when he didn't do anything wrong? Malfoy had started it by cheating, so he got what he deserved. And it wasn't like Malfoy or his father had never performed an Unforgivable Curse.

He began to eat his lunch. He was miserable. He had not showered in days, his whole body ached to get out, his scar scorched in pain almost every second, and the food tasted horrible. Harry couldn't eat anymore of the disgusting soup. He tossed it across, and it feel splat onto the ground, the red liquid oozing to the edges of the plate.

Unfortunately, Romero heard the nose and immediately came over, "What was that?"

"The food is abominable! Give me something else!"

"You wish. That's what you get, and there should be no complaining, alright?" He asked me as if he was addressing a five year old.

Harry exploded, "NO! NO! DON'T GOT IT! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I WANT OUT! KILL ME IF YOU HAVE TO, BUT GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Romero grimaced, looking like he was having pleasure in Harry's fits, "I don't think so. You're staying where you are." And with that, he left.

If the magical way wasn't going to work, he would use a Muggle method. With all his might, he tore at the bars with his hands, pulling them with every ounce of energy he possessed, "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Harry opened his eyes in amazement. Four of the bars were gone. His eyes lowered to ground, spotting them broken into tiny pieces and steam coming out as if it was an electrical device. He couldn't believe it worked. He spent a whole minute standing staring when he should've been escaping but he couldn't help it. What couldn't be done by magic was done by his bare hands.

However, Harry did come to his senses as he grabbed his wand and swift footed across the narrow corridor, praying that no one would see him. As he was making his way, dementor sensed and approached him. Harry felt himself becoming weak, but before that could go into full effect, he brandished his wand and yelled, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Only smoke left the wand. He tried again, but with the thought of Ron and Hermione, and successfully produced a bright stag that attacked the dementor. His ways was clear again.

…

Hermione held onto Ron with one of her paws. They were still hiding behind the tree, and unfortunately, Ron's full form could be seen. She didn't know how long they'd been there, because it was always dark in the forest. She could see Draco standing about ten feet away, with an intensely frustrated expression on his face.

"Do you plan to stand here all day?" Ron asked, looking uncomfortable, considering that he had been kneeling on his feet, a pose that couldn't hold for long.

Hermione, or rather her cat form, shook her head. It was too risky to transform into a human right now, especially since they wanted her.

"Then how long? This is really awkward."

Hermione produced a look that said, "I don't know."

"Turn back to a human. This is boring."

Despite the consequences, she turned back to herself. He was right. The atmosphere was unaccommodating, mainly because of the moist atmosphere, making her sweat as soon as she was human, not to mention there were ants and grasshoppers all over the tree and grass.

"You are so impatient. We should stay here to find out what they're up to."

"I think we should go back and inform a teacher for your safety."

"I can protect myself, and you."

"Without a wand?'

"I can do wandless magic, remember?"

"Not anymore, you can't. You're drained."

"Shh! Don't talk so loudly!" Hermione scolded him.

They waited in apprehension. Hermione couldn't imagine what would happen if Voldemort got his hands on the Crystal of Invincibility. How much more powerful did he need to get? Of course, she'd rather be anywhere else than in the Forbidden Forest, but they had to get to the bottom of this. Only a week was left of school and it wasn't like they were coming back ever again. If only she had her wand…

"Someone is coming." Ron warned her, and instantly, she transformed into a cat. Footsteps invaded their territory, and as Ron looked up behind him, he witnessed four Death Eaters staring down at him, with their hoods on. Before Ron got a chance to react, they rained down spells at him and Hermione the cat. They froze, still as a statue, and were lead to where Draco was. Hermione was in one of the Death Eaters' hands. She had the urge to scratch him to death, but resisted with great difficulty. Ron stood frozen across from her, next to another Death Eater.

"Hey, boy. Where is Hermione Granger?" A deep voice questioned Ron dangerously, "And whose cat is this?"

"I won't tell you." Ron replied flatly.

"I won't tell you." Ron replied flatly.

"Bella!" the Death Eater holding Hermione shouted. It took a few minutes for her to arrive, closely followed by Lucius Malfoy. They looked at Ron and smiled.

"Ahh, good…but where is the girl?"

"We couldn't find her."

Bellatrix Lestrange walked up ton Ron and stared straight into his eyes, "Where is she?"

Ron didn't answer, but Bellatrix saw the truth in his eyes, "I see. Macnair, she is an Animagus. Torture her until she transforms."

It was ironic that Macnair had gotten the hold of another animal, being the Death Eater who had come to execute Buckbeak the hippogriff in their third year.

Macnair pointed his wand at her muttered a spell that emitted white light. Excruciating pain struck her. She didn't have a choice. Hermione turned into a human and stood there with her arms folded.

"Finally." Bellatrix voiced, and snatched Hermione by the arm.

"Let's go." She turned to the Death Eater next to Ron and said, "Keep him tied. We'll be back, or rather, I'll be back."

Where was she taking Hermione? She guessed they were going to Voldemort, and as scary as that sounded, she was anxious to see him in his full form, she what everyone had been frightened of for so long. She prayed that Ron would be alright. This was all her fault. If she hadn't been so stubborn to stay and spy on them, they wouldn't have been in this trouble. But what was done was done.

They were heading deep into the forest now, as the everyday flies and other insects disappeared. What she saw now were unfamiliar animals and even blue and red striped snakes. She spotted a unicorn to her left once, but the unicorn didn't seem to have noticed her.

Bellatrix's hand on her arm felt like poison. It was strong and forceful, even stronger than man's hand. Hermione didn't think she would be as half scared of Voldemort as she was of Bellatrix, as silly as it sounded. The look in her eyes was enough to shock anyone to death.

They reached their destination, a place Hermione had envisioned once before in her dreams. She was standing next a deep tunnel, knowing was under it.

"What are we-" Hermione started, but was interrupted by Bellatrix, "She's here, Master."

Hermione didn't need to think twice to know who she was talking to. She looked to her right, and there he was. Clad in a dark robe and a huge red shield encrypted on his chest, he gave off the appearance of a big slithering snake. His bloody red wide slitted eyes glared at her, making her heart jump with fright.


	30. Death, Determination, and Destruction

Chapter 30

Fear hovered heavily in the air, suffocating Hermione to an extent greater than ever before. She retreated a step, daring not to peer into the eyes of the figure in front of her, but the option was out of her reach. It was almost as if she was allured to his gaze on purpose. Hermione knew those red-blooded lifeless eyes would never escape her memory; they would find themselves back in her eyes whenever an endangering event occurred.

A snake shook her out of her reverie as it slithered around Voldemort's body closely, clinging and pushing his cloak inwards. She saw its deadly fangs, ready to strike at any second, and Hermione recoiled even further. Forgetting everything else, she tugged at her own attire in search of her wand, but failed to find it. Where was her wand? Where?

"Remember," Bellatrix said icily, "the second you transform, I'll have you beaten into a thousand pieces and thrown into the nearest river." She traveled away from Hermione and stood beside Voldemort.

"Oh, I would not worry about that if I were you, Bella," Voldemort's infamous poisonous voice chilled Hermione's insides, "Her eyes are filled with fright. She will be lucky to even walk on her own will."

He was right. He had her frozen as still as a plaque, completely under his command. He didn't need to use the Imperious Curse. This was no time for her vulnerability. Ron was still back there, possibly tormented by the thought of her and the danger she'd gotten herself into. If only he would advert his stare, she would be able to move…

"Of all the people, the Keeper of the Crystal turned out to be a Mudblood." Voldemort snarled, his eyes mobilizing up and down at Hermione with disgust.

His words haunted her. She was the Keeper of the Crystal? This explained so much, the reason why mysterious black hooded Death Eaters had been trailing her for the past year, or Draco Malfoy acting sneaky around her whenever she asked him something.

"They must have a connection of some sort." Bellatrix stated.

"Potter?"

"Yes."

If they meant friendship, then yes, there was a connection, but by no means was she of more importance. Over the years, bravery was not a quality she had acquired, while Harry had been ready to fly off to the Ministry of Magic twice without caring for his own neck.

"Come. We must go at once."

And they were off. Voldemort lead them into the tunnel; Hermione was in between, and Bellatrix behind her.

Considering that Hermione had to duck to prevent herself getting her hair dirtied, the tunnel was very low. She would have laughed at the sight of Voldemort bowing in front anything, even nature, if she were a thousand miles away.

Hermione could barely breathe due to the large dust particles floating in the atmosphere. She looked down and saw worms, fleas, mosquitoes, and even a small snake slithering in and out of the wet dirt. She felt like vomiting. If she remembered correctly, this tunnel was about a hundred feet long, and she longed to get inside that room, if it opened that is. But at the moment, it appeared longer, almost never-ending.

When it did, Hermione faced an arched door of polished stone, with words of silver encrusted in the middle. The same as before, it said GRYFFINDOR on the top, and SLYTHERIN below it. Between them was the union of a lion and a snake in an emblem in the shape of a circle.

"Open it." Voldemort turned around and commanded Hermione. She was confused. What was she supposed to do? It didn't really matter, because whatever it was, she wasn't going to do it.

"What do I do?"

"Not certain. Touch the door."

"Excuse me." Hermione said awkwardly, and darted forth. After making sure she was blocking their view, she held out her trembling hand let it linger about a tad of space away from the door, not really touching it. When nothing happened for a minute or so, she retrieved her hand, faced them, and shook her head. Was it her, or was there a troubled look in Voldemort's eyes? Bellatrix, however, shoved Hermione aside and pushed the door with all her might. "If there isn't a magical way to open this, there must be another."

Hermione fleeted a half grin but then straightened her face immediately.

"Stop being such a fool." Voldemort said, pushing her to the side, and budged Hermione forward, "I know you didn't touch it. Do you take me for a fool? Touch it, or Nagini will be ready to have her meal any time soon."

Hermione gulped with intimidation, slowly lead out her hand again, and touched the door.

…

"What do we do with him?" Ron heard the Death Eater that had him in a grip speak to the one standing across from him. Ron couldn't believe they'd been caught. Where was Hermione right now? Was she alright? Ron would've died to know if she was alive or not, and if she wasn't, he would never forgive himself. Because of him, Draco had dragged her into the forest after him. This wasn't fair. Nothing about this was fair.

"How about you let me go?" Ron spat, craving to move out of this position he'd been standing in forever. He had to find Hermione. He was wasting time just standing here.

"Yeah, when humans have tails." The one next to him said, laughing, followed by the other one as well. Ron, however, didn't find any amusement in this. He had to find a way out, but how?

"I say we kill him."

"Don't we need him, though?"

"No. It's her we needed, and they have her already. Let's dispose of him." The speaker revealed himself as he unraveled his hood. It was Antonio Dolohov, a tall and massive man with dirty long dark hair and a beard that give him an uncharacteristic look. His eyes were tiny in proportion with the rest of his face, and those eyes glared at him with an animal hungry glint.

Ron didn't think they would kill him, but he was wrong. Fortunately, the other Death Eater brought up a point, "What if they need him? If we kill him, they'll kill us."

Antonio Dolohov rolled his eyes, "You idiot, if they needed him, they would have taken him already, and remember, she's the chosen one, not him. Actually, I don't know who he is."

"That is Muggle Lover Arthur Weasley's son. The red hair gives it away." Macnair said something for the first time. Ron would have expected something like that to come out of Draco's mouth, only with the addition of poor and useless.

"Ahhh…that gives me even more reason to slaughter him." Dolohov's eyes flashed with hunger.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Lucius and Bellatrix will be furious, and if we find out they need him after you kill him, we will be dead."

"You are such a coward, Goyle."

Goyle? Ron never thought he would have been so pleased to hear him talk. Yes, everyone needed to listen to him. Maybe if they were distracted enough, he could make a run for it.

"You are calling me a coward, you backstabbing no good-"

"Shut up, both of you." A third Death Eater interrupted them. "This isn't the time or the place, and Goyle is right, Antonio. We should keep him until they tell us what do with him."

"No! I want to kill him! I haven't kill anyone for months now, and a man needs his pleasures-"

"You'll put all our necks on the line by your thoughtless actions!" Goyle snapped, and right at that moment, Ron jumped out of Dolohov's grip and sprinted across without looking back. He heard shrieks and grunts of surprise, and in no time, Ron saw streams of spells coming at him endlessly. He ducked, moved to the right, moved to the left, and whatever else he had to do to dodge them, while running as fast as he could. His adrenaline was pumping to the max, giving him more stamina and speed as he ran.

"Get him!" One of them screeched, sounding close to ten feet away. Ron increased speed, but now he was beginning to get exhausted. He turned his head and saw they were about five feet away. He wouldn't make it unless he did something. So, when he saw the nearest bush, Ron dived for it, and before he knew it, he was hidden inside a forest green bush that was large enough to fit three adults. Ron closed his eyes, hoping they wouldn't find him here, and if they did, he didn't want to see their horrible faces. They knew he had steered to the right, so they followed. Ron heard swift feet brush the ground and his breath grew unsteady. This was it.

He waited. Waited until the sounds cleared, which they did. The only thing he could hear was an annoying chirping sound, and he safely stepped out of the bush.

That obstacle was thankfully over, but the next one was even tougher. He didn't know where Hermione had gone. He realized that he would have to lure the Death Eaters to where he was again, hide, and then follow them to wherever they went. What a plan.

Ready for it, Ron heaved his body inside the bush again and stuck his head out. He took a deep breath, and screamed, "HERE!" After whistling loudly a few times, the Death Eaters came in vicinity, and Ron went inside the bush fully, except making a small opening so he could see.

"I swear he was here! This is where the sound came from!" A panicked voice filled the air.

"It was a trick. Why would he yell? This must be a trap."

"Please, Dolohov. The boy has no wand, therefore no trap. I say we wait here until we see him."

"Then that will be forever. Let's return to headquarters. The Dark Lord must need us for something."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go!" And with that, they were off. Ron was relieved to see his plan work, and now he was one step closer to finding and rescuing Hermione.

When they were at least a minute away from walking distance, Ron stepped out of the bush and followed them. He could see a tiny glimpse of their wavy cloaks and the shiny points on their wands. As they went further in, Ron realized he had only been this deep in the Forest once, and that was during their fifth year when Ginny, Neville, Luna, and himself had come to find Hermione and Harry. This was where Grawp would be. Maybe he could use the giant to scare off all the Death Eaters, maybe even Voldemort. But before any of that, he desperately needed his wand. He was a sitting duck without it. As he was walking, only one question was in his mind. Was Hermione alive?

…

Harry was at a loss for words. He was, at the gate of Hogsmeade, the place where he had Apparated from Azkaban, but now he needed a plan to go inside Hogwarts without anyone knowing it was him. What about his Invisibility Cloak? Yes, if he could summon it to himself, then he could get in unnoticed. However, there was the little problem of the Ministry. Wouldn't they know when he used magic? He would be back in Azkaban and that would be no help, but if he went in without his cloak, he would be back in prison in no time. In the end, he decided to use his wand.

"Accio Invisibility Cloak!" The cloak came flying into his hands, the silvery material sliding off his hands and falling to the ground. He picked it up and covered his head with it.

It was mid-evening when Harry went back to Hogwarts. It was a clear but humid evening, and Harry could feel the heat in his palms and sweat in his armpits. This had to be the longest day ever. Only this morning he had faced a life sentence in Azkaban, never thinking there was a possibility of getting out, but in the afternoon, everything had changed. He felt like an entirely new person reborn in the world for new purposes. He still felt weak, but there was a new streak inside of him that made him want to live. He wanted to see Ron and Hermione. He wanted to hold Ginny in his arms and kiss her. Harry vaguely remembered his brawl with Ron over Ginny and what he had seen. That was all in the past now and he could barely hold that against Ron. Their friendship was worth much more than that.

As he was heading back, Sirius came into his mind. So this is what it must have been like on the run, in disguise, all alone. Harry and Sirius would have been partners in crime, and wander the edges of the Earth together. Nothing would have made him happier than that. If there was anything worse than being a convict, it was being alone.

Slowly, the Quidditch field came to view. Surprisingly, he saw people moving on the ground, and luckily, the robes were the colors of red and gold from what he could see. He speeded up, holding the cloak tightly, and he reached the field in a few minutes. The first person he saw was Ginny, clad in her uniform and a smile on her face as she walked back to the locker rooms. He was ready to jump with joy, but kept his excitement down in case anyone spotted him.

Harry sneaked up behind Ginny, and grabbed her hand. Instantly, her body jerked and she screamed. The other members located the noise and ran to her.

"It's me, Harry. We have to talk. In private." Harry whispered in a rush as the rest of the team came to her. To his disappointment, he didn't spot Ron amongst them.

Ginny looked as if she was about to fait, but she curtailed this façade for his sake.

"What's wrong? Why'd you scream?" Mason exclaimed, baffled at her screams.

"Nothing. I thought there was a spider on me, but there isn't. Sorry for scaring you all."

"You look pale." He said suspiciously.

"I'm fine. Now go."

They left, with a bit of reluctance, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

"Come in the bathroom." She led him in the girls changing room. He admired her as they walked to the bathroom. He thought he was never going to see that face again, but it was his luck that he did. She was as beautiful as ever, with a mane of long red hair that matched her olive green eyes, giving her the appearance of an angel with fiery hair.

Harry closed the stall behind him after they entered, and he pulled the cloak off.

"Harry!" She hugged him tightly, as if she would never let go. It felt so good to be with her again, "I missed you so much. I thought I was never going to see you!" Her tears dripped on Harry's shoulder.

"Me too, but we'll talk about that later. I need to get to Dumbledore, where is he? How am I supposed to get to him?"

"Don't you know?" Ginny asked, with a surprised look on her face.

"Know what?"

"Dumbledore went with you and never came back."

"Are you serious?" There was something strange going on. Dumbledore had come with him to his trial, but had only stayed in Azkaban for an hour and then had taken off, saying that he had to return to Hogwarts. But then again, that man had not been acting like Dumbledore at all. What in the world was going on?

"Yeah." Ginny replied, returning to his arms, "Never mind that. Just stay here with me."

"Ginny."

"Hmm?"

"Where's Ron? And Hermione?"

"Ron's in the forest, and Hermione…well, she came looking for him and she seemed really worried about something too. I guess she went after him."

"They went into the forest? Why didn't you stop them?"

"I couldn't stop Ron, since Filch sent him in there for a punishment."

"What if they run into the Death Eaters? When did they go?" Ginny looked a bit more serious now, "Hermione came looking for me about…two hours ago."

"And she hasn't returned yet?"

Ginny shook her head, "Should we go look for them?"

"No. We'll get in trouble, and I don't want you in danger. Now…what I need is the Marauders Map." He summoned the map to himself and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Hogwarts revealed itself, along with the Forbidden Forest, and Harry searched for them all over. Finally, his eyes landed on a small spot deep north in the forest, where it said Grawp in bold letters, and next to the tag were the tags of Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Tom Riddle. He couldn't believe his eyes for a moment, and he had to read it several more times for it to sink in. About two inches below them was Ron and a herd of Death Eaters he'd all seen before. He looked up to see if Ginny had spotted them, and she hadn't. This was good. He had decided that he was going to go after them, and there was no way Ginny was coming with him. There was no way Ron and Hermione were going to make it out of there, and perhaps he had gotten free because he was destined to save his best friends.

Harry got to his feet, rolling the map and saying "Mischief managed". "You know what, I'm going to go to McGonagall and tell her everything." As Ginny got up too, Harry lowered her hand, "No. You stay here, and I'll be back as soon as I can. Promise?"

She stared at him awkwardly, "Alright, if it's so important to you."

"It is. I'll be back." He kissed her, a kiss more worth than anything else, and then headed out. Of course he wasn't going to McGonagall. He had to save his friends.

…

It turned out that the door had opened by her touch, and now, Hermione was standing in the middle of a small rectangular room she had once again envisioned in her dreams. Torches lighted the room, placed on all four corners, which gave a yellow glow to the faces in the room. She felt like she was standing in one of those Muggle art museums, with art exhibits displaying treasurable items in thick glass. The exact thing was in this room. In the middle lay a tall pillar, the top half covered with glass, and a crystal stood inside in the middle. It was absolutely beautiful. Like a real crystal, it was white, with pestles sticking out from all sides. It shined as bright as the sun, depositing vibrant colors of the rainbow. Hermione felt like she could stand there and stare at it all day, but it was interrupted by Voldemort's voice, "Go get it. Now."

Knowing that she was condemning everyone to death by doing so, she racked her brains hard for a solution to this unfortunate predicament. If she flashed Voldemort with the Crystal after she got her hands on it, he would die. That would never work, though. Only Harry could kill Voldemort, and vice versa. Come on, Hermione, be brave, she told herself, but she couldn't. She had no wand, no motivation, no Ron. She was doomed.

"Hurry up." Bellatrix commanded. Hermione put all her weight on her toes and touched the glass, hoping it would off shoot some type of alarm system and help would come, but as she touched it, the glass disappeared and nothing of the sort happened.

As she clasped the crystal in her hands, a voice behind her rang in her ears, "Hermione!" It was Ron!

Voldemort and Bellatrix twirled around in amazement, and Bellatrix screeched, "How did he get here!"

This was her chance. Hermione advanced on them and pick pocketed Bellatrix's robe as they both rained spells at Ron. She got hold of both wands and immediately threw Ron his as he ran to block the spells coming at him. Hermione held hers up and bellowed, aiming at Bellatrix, "Petrificus Totalus!"

It was obvious that she had aimed at the wrong person, because as Bellatrix fell frozen to the floor, Voldemort grasped her wrist and held his wand to her neck.

"Move an inch, and I'll have her decapitated in a second." Voldemort threatened Ron, and he stood glued to his feet.

A smile unveiled on Voldemort's face. It didn't suit him, because it made him look more dangerous, if that was even possible.

"Ahh…so this is your famed lover, is it not?"

Hermione didn't answer. She was helpless. She knew what was coming but couldn't do anything about it."

"Yes, now let's see your reaction when I torture your prince."

No…she struggled to get loose of his grip, even went to bite his arm, but he pulled it away, still having a firm hold on her. He was strong. He pointed his wand at Ron and yelled, "Crucio!"

Ron writhed and shrieked in pain, his shrieks deafening Hermione's ears and heart. She screamed, not being able to witness Ron in such pain. Why didn't he punish her? Why?

"LET HIM GO!" Hermione yelled at him, moving as much as she could, "I SAID, LET HIM-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The green light shined brightly across the room and struck Ron's chest with full force. His eyes rolled in surprise for a few seconds, and then his body gave way, falling hopelessly to the floor with a thud. Hermione blinked once, her brain cells slowing down and delaying her reaction. No. He wasn't dead. He had only fallen to the floor and would eventually get up. That was right. He was not dead.

But Ron did not get up. He laid there, as still as a statue, with his eyes pointing to the ceiling in fright. Tears came to Hermione's eyes. She sobbed. Dreams were for kids, and hers weren't coming true anytime soon. He was dead. Voldemort finally released her, and she went flying to Ron, kneeling down next to him, clinging to his body in shock, crying her eyes out. No, no, no, no – her Ron was dead. How could she have let this happen? Why hadn't she done anything? She was ashamed of her cowardice. It had rewarded the worst consequence of all. She touched his pale but delicate face; it was as soft as ever, but the look in his eyes scared her. Those eyes were never going to move again. She put her head with shame down on his chest, "NO! OH GOD, HELP!"

"Give me the crystal. Slowly." Voldemort said in the midst of her crying and preaching.

Hermione looked up in anger. She desired revenge. She got to her feet, her wand in one hand and the crystal in the other. It didn't matter if she didn't have it before, because she had it now. She had bravery, motivation, and Ron, dead or alive.

"If you want it, come and get it." Hermione held the crystal in front of his face. A strange but determined glint showed in her eyes. They were apart some feet but it didn't scare her.

Voldemort snorted, "You think you can fight me, foolish girl? Even Harry Potter was scared to duel with me. You'll win."

"Watch me." This was her first real duel, and she was going to win. This one was for Ron.

"Conducio!" Voldemort vanished with the flick of his wand, and a second later, he appeared behind her, but she was too quick for him. She turned to face him and sent a jet of blue light at him. It hit him on the shoulder. He staggered a bit, but returned to his usual poise and shrieked, "Crucio!"

The spell made contact with her skin, making her scorch with unbearable pain all over her body. It was worse than she had even imagined. Excruciating pain belched the insides of her body. She screamed and screamed until she could scream no more. She fell to the floor, not having enough energy to stand. As she fell, she saw Bellatrix rise, breaking out of her spell.

"Let me do the honors." An aroma of revenge circled Bellatrix as she shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

Something new happened. The green light never had the chance to make contact with Hermione because it bounced right off this invisible barrier that surrounded her. The light hit the wall behind them, leaving a fresh burn with smoke emitting from it.

"Get that crystal from her." Hermione heard Voldemort tell Bellatrix, and in no time, she came close to Hermione. She kneeled down and put her hand forward, but suddenly, she was blasted off her feet and flown backwards, screaming along the way, until she crashed against the wall and collapsed flat face down. Hermione felt the world fading away gradually, as darkness evaded her. The last thing she saw was a head of messy hair revealing a lightning bolt scar, and then she knew no more.

…

Hermione's eyes opened to the world around her. Everything was unusually calm and quiet. She raised her body and feet until she was standing. She as till in the room, but felt alone in it. The torches were burning and the crystal was in her hand as if it had never left it. Suddenly, someone patted her on the back, making her jump with fright, "AHH!"

"Calm down, Hermione." A familiar voice soothed her as she turned to face the person. It was Harry. Was she having an allusion? Her instinct was relief to see him, but as she thought hard, the Trio came to her attention, and full realization panged her. Ron was dead. She kneeled down to him and took his body in her arms, and begged for his life to be back, "Ron, Ron, wake up! Wake up! Ron, come back! Ron…Ron…"

"Hermione. Come. Get up." Harry ushered her up, "We'll get him back."

"How?" Had Harry lost his mind as well? And wasn't he supposed to be in Azkaban?

"With the Crystal. Remember what it said in that book? It said it had the power of resurrection. Give me the crystal, Hermione."

She looked at him suspiciously.

"Hermione. Hand me the crystal."

Hermione gave him the Crystal. He held it and stared at it for a second, and then aimed it at Ron's boy. A light unraveled, hitting Ron's body. Hermione closed her eyes. She could not watch if the light failed.


	31. A Fallen Box

Hermione blinded herself from the inevitable vision facing her. She was scared. If this didn't work, then that would mean that Ron was gone forever, and she knew she could never deal with that. She couldn't peer into those lifeless eyes again. They would only bring tears to hers. Her life flashed before her eyes, as if it was over already, and if he was dead, then she did want it to be.

The light immersed from the crystal and shined onto Ron's still body, but he did not stir. Harry looked at Hermione worryingly as she asked, "Did it work?"

Harry felt as if the answer to that question would result in either life or death. His eyes were also brimmed with drops of water, but tried his best to hold them in for Hermione's sake. The same question was on his mind throughout. How had this happened?

"No…but maybe there's another way. Don't panic. He warned in advance as Hermione gasped vociferously.

"What other way! He's dead!" Hermione cried.

Harry examined Ron's body, and then Hermione, clearly not knowing what to do. The rest of the Death Eaters would be here at any moment. He had lost some of them back where Draco had been tied up. They needed to get out of here.

"Hermione, we need to leave. Help me get him up."

"What? Why?"

"The other Death Eaters will be here any minute now. Let's go."

Hermione didn't do much to agree or disagree, but helped Harry pick up Ron's body. He was tall and heavy, without a doubt. However, that wasn't what troubled her. Were they going to be able to revive him back to life with that crystal?

They headed out, with Harry leading the two, out into the open. Trying to make sure that his body wouldn't encounter the edges of the tunnel, Hermione and Harry were extra careful and slow while walking out of it. A bug fell on Ron's chest, and immediately, Hermione heaved it off, making it pit-pat to the moist ground. Even if he was dead, Ron was going to be clean pure. As stupid as that sounded, she felt an internal attachment to him, a deeper bond as when he had been alive.

Hermione should have expected, this, but since she was so wrapped up with Ron, she didn't see it coming. As they stepped out of the tunnel, the sight in front of her blew her away like a blasting gust of wind, knocking out her senses. Harry jerked with surprise too, jumping back suddenly, shaking Ron's body. Death Eaters had cornered the tunnel like an animal corners its prey. They were standing only two to three feet apart, making it impossible for them to escape. The first face Hermione's eyes laid upon were Bellatrix Lestrange. There was obviously no escaping her. Hermione shivered with fright, knowing they were never going to escape this alive. She looked to Harry's back, hoping he would conjure a miracle with that mind and energy of his. But what surprised her more was the number of Death Eaters she was seeing. Surely there hadn't been this many when they had captured Ron and her back there.

"Awww…" Bellatrix sang halfheartedly, "Looks like little lover boy is dead. It's time for you to join him."

"No. You will be." Harry declared without a scare in the world.

"Give me the crystal, Potter." Lucius Malfoy sneered, holding his hand out in front of Harry. They were inches apart, and anyone of them could ignite their wands at any second. Reminded of this, Hermione held her wand firmly, rolling it in the tips of her fingers randomly.

"What are you going to do with it? It's not as if you can use it."

"Maybe not, but Voldemort sure can. I know he would love to use it on you." Malfoy leered, pointing his wand at Harry. Bellatrix appeared to be dying to say something but wasn't. Hermione guessed she had been silenced by Lucius Malfoy. Stalling like this wasn't going to get them anywhere, as long as the Death Eaters barricaded them.

"Well, hold you excitement, because he's gone." Harry said, smiling.

Bellatrix flashed a worried look, "Gone? What do you mean?"

"He fled, ran, chickened out, whatever you want to call it."

"Watch your mouth!" Bellatrix warned, with a highly elevated voice.

"No, I won't, and if you don't move, then I'll shatter this crystal into pieces. The 'Dark Lord' won't be so happy about that, now will he?"

A trail of whispers scattered throughout the Death Eaters, as if discussing what to do. Hermione took the chance to mouth something to Harry, "Come on, let's go while we have the chance."

"It's impossible to get through. Like it or not, we're going to have to fight them."

Hermione knew he was going to say that. They weren't half dangerous as Voldemort, so she assumed she could take them on. What were they going to do with Ron, though?

"Alright Potter." Lucius Malfoy spoke as if he was compromising with him, "Let's have a deal. We'll let the girl and the dead boy go if you stay here until the Dark Lord comes and decides what to do with you."

"No way." Hermione refused out loud, "Harry, don't."

Harry looked back at her and nodded dismissively, "Yes. If they let you go, you can get help quickly. Send an owl to McGonagall or something like that. Understand?"

"No, I don't understand. I'm staying and fighting." There was no way she was leaving Harry alone. She didn't want Harry to be dead too. What would she do without him either? How would she live?

"Go. I will be fine. Trust me."

Hermione shook her head, whereas Harry nodded, looking in the direction of the gap that the Death Eaters had made for her. She glanced back and forth a few times before making a plan.

"Choose." Malfoy commanded. Taking the order, Hermione told Harry to release Ron, leaving a rather perplexed look on his face at the decision she'd made after all that disagreement. She held Ron up high to her chest, making sure he wouldn't fall out of her grip, and marched across the path, leaving the vicinity of the tunnel, and went straight past Bellatrix. Hermione locked into her stone cold eyes, while Bellatrix said, "Looks like you won't be needed to stalk anymore." Her heart jumped a beat. What had she meant by that? If Hermione remembered correctly, her stalker had been a guy. It was a guy that she had briefly danced with at the Halloween Ball last year, or had Bellatrix impersonated a man and come to kidnap her? Hermione didn't know who to trust anymore. She walked ahead until she was out of their sight, and carefully lowered Ron's body to the ground, making sure he didn't brush a single branch. After equipped with her wand, Hermione headed back to where they were standing. Harry was in the middle, with fire stirring in his eyes, as if he was ready to fight all of them at once, with his wand in one hand and the exquisite crystal in the other.

This gave Hermione another idea. If Voldemort desired the crystal so badly, then it must have extraordinary power, right? Even if the crystal didn't work on Ron, it could kill the Death Eaters. But how was she going to deliver this message to Harry without them knowing? By turning into a cat, her mind answered her question.

And so she transformed into the same old cat and pawed downhill near the tunnel, disguised between the trees, remembering that Bellatrix knew she was an Animagus. The cat in her reminded her stomach that she was hungry. The last thing she had eaten was sausage for breakfast, which had been over half a day ago. She stood behind another tree, anticipating what was about to happen, but nothing did. Hermione saw Harry's reckless lips move more frequently than the others, guessing that he was stalling. Where in the world was Voldemort? Was he this petrified of Harry? Speaking of which, she was still amazed at how Harry had gotten here. He wasn't an Animagus like Sirius to just transform into a dog and escape, so how had he done it, especially at the exact time they had been in trouble? It seemed as if all of this had been planned before.

After waiting ten minutes or so, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she scurried out of the trees and rushed to Harry's side, not caring if they could see her or not anymore. Bellatrix's eyes widened instantly as she saw the ca moving to Harry, and screamed, "It's a trick! GET HIM!"

Lucius did not wait to object her orders, because he had begun to incite spells at them along with everyone else. Blue, red, white, and green strands of light poured contagiously at them. They ran as quickly as they could, not daring to look behind to see if they were being followed. Hermione, by this time, had turned back to a human again, and was running side by side with Harry, who looked at her marvelously and mouthed, "Why in the blazes did you do that?"

"What did you expect me to do? Watch them kill you?"

"They can't, because of the-WATCH OUT!" He screamed, and pushed Hermione to the ground as a jet of green light strung in her direction. Thanks to Harry, she missed it. Quickly, Harry pulled her up and they were back to running off again.

"We can't keep on running forever." Harry yelled in the midst of the Death Eaters' screams of curses and jinx, a sign that they were getting closer.

"I'm only running because you are!" Hermione yelled back, "I reckoned you would use the Crystal at them so we wouldn't have a big mess like before."

Harry halted, bringing Hermione to a stop too, and hugged her with grace, "That's a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of that!"

Before Hermione had time to reply, the Death Eaters caught up with them and stopped about a few paces from them. They stared at Harry and Hermione, curious to know why they had ceased running, but had murdering looks on their faces as well.

Lucius was the one who spoke first, "Your games are over, Potter. Hand us the crystal now."

"You're right. It is over." Harry said as a grand finale, and for a second, every single Death Eater had questioning expressions on their faces, not knowing was coming. Before any of them could react, Harry raised the crystal and flashed it across in a stream of light. One by one they fell, starting with Bellatrix Lestrange, who encountered a look of surprise as the white light attacked her face. There was no life left in her after she had fallen. Lucius Malfoy, to the right of her, was next. He tried to run, but failed as the light hit him too, blinding his legs as they swayed precariously, losing his balance, before his whole body collapsed to the floor. One by one, their demise brought upon victory for Harry and Hermione, and before they knew it, all the Death Eaters were dead. Hermione could not believe her eyes as she stared at the crystal object in awe, wondering how such a small object could cause so much damage.

"Are you…seeing what I'm seeing?" Harry was dazed by the sight in front of him, looking quite flabbergasted.

"If you mean fourteen dead Death Eaters in the hands of a puny little object, then yes." She replied, stepping ahead to check if they were really gone. She felt Lucius Malfoy's wrist, sensing not a sign of a pulse in it. She looked back at Harry and shook her head, "They're definitely dead."

"Wow." Harry rolled the crystal in his hand as he goggled at it, at a loss for words, "What is this thing?"

"I know what you mean." Hermione said in unison, getting back to her feet, "We should get out of here…and get Ron."

Harry sensed the somber tone in her voice as she spoke about Ron. "Don't worry, Hermione. We'll think of something. Maybe we'll try using the crystal's powers again. If it can kill fourteen people in one go, then it should certainly be able to resurrect one person."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be." Harry replied, who was still observing the crystal in amazement.

"Really sure?"

"Hermione."

"I'm trying to make sure. If he died…" Her sentence trailed off into nothing. She was afraid to finish it.

"Ready?" Harry asked her, and she nodded. They headed back to where she had laid Ron, which turned out to be quite a long walk, realizing how far they had run. Neither of them talked along the way. Hermione was too anxious about Ron to say or ask anything. It was as if she wouldn't be able to function well until Ron was alive and well.

Ron's body was right where she had left it, concealed behind a bush so he would be safe. Hermione lowered her knees and held his hand. It was cold and uninviting. Hermione looked at him for a long time, hoping that his eyes would start moving suddenly, but they didn't. She held back her tears with great difficulty. If this did not work, what would she do? What would she say to Mr. and Mrs.Weasley, that she was to blame for her son's death? How was she to face six of his siblings and inform them that Ron was dead? All those questions troubled her, but the one that got to her the most what she would do without her love. Would she be able to live on without him? Never in the past seven years of her life had she spent without him. Even in the summer holidays, they had always been together.

"Move aside, Hermione." Harry ordered her, and she obeyed as she let go of his hand and sat there with her knees locked together. Harry aimed the crystal at Ron and it vibrated bright white light at Ron. They waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. Hermione and Harry exchanged panicked looks, and even Harry couldn't give Hermione some comforting words. Ron was as still as ever.

"May-Maybe if we both try." Harry suggested. His voice was cracking, and Hermione knew he was going to break down in tears at any moment, but didn't say anything on this matter. She stood up, and lended one hand to Harry. They joined forces as both their hands held the crystal. Hermione prayed silently in her head, "Please let this work, please, please…"

Both shined the light at Ron, and in the midst of a second, the shine brightened Hermione's life. Ron's hand twitched slightly, then his eyes moved left and right, perplexed to see where he was.

"Oh my God. It worked." Harry breathed, gazing at Ron in delight. Hermione rushed down to him, pulled him up, and embraced him as tight and lovingly as she could. Tears of joy flushed her cheeks. She screamed Ron's name with happiness. She thought she was going to get a heart attack from being overly happy, believe it or not. He was alive!

"Hermione?" Ron questioned, scratching his head in confusion, "What happened?"

"You're alive!" It was Harry who shrieked with jubilance this time as he came down and hugged Ron and Hermione. It was a touching moment for her, one that she would never forget. The three of them were back together and they had just proved that they could not be separated for long, either dead or alive. Hermione didn't think she had ever loved Ron more than now. Her love for him kept on growing and growing. It had no limits, and she wanted them to be together forever. She felt like she was in a fairy tale, when the prince and princess ended up together and lived happily ever after at the end of the story. She would have been glad to have that story as her life any day.

"You were dead, Ron, dead! And we just brought you back to life! Can you believe it!" Hermione exclaimed, still in his arms. She was never going to let go.

"Dead?" Ron asked, still nonplussed at both of his friends.

"Don't you remember?" Harry inquired, who had let go of him, unlike Hermione.

Ron shook his head, "No. The last thing I remember…was Voldemort. He attacked me, and then…everything is a little fuzzy from there."

"Yeah, well, you died," Hermione was finally able to say these words out loud, "And I think I fainted. The next thing I know, Harry's here and Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange are gone. We tried to a lot of times to bring you back but it didn't work until we used it together. I guess our special bond enabled the crystal to resurrect you.

Ron jumped back in surprise, gazing at Harry, "Where did you come from? You're supposed to be in Azkaban!"

Harry and Hermione chuckled at his clueless nature.

"I think we'll leave that for later," Hermione suggested, "I say we get out of here before we face another obstacle and get ourselves killed."

"I'll agree to that." Ron raised his hand, "Ready to go."

And they were off. Surprisingly, Ron's body didn't hurt in any parts as he tried to walk. They trotted across the forest together. Life couldn't have been any better, and she was still in awe about the whole resurrection concept. Harry had told her one day that Dumbledore had told him that no spell could resurrect the dead…but then again, use of the crystal wasn't exactly a spell. They had been so lucky to get away with this that she couldn't thank her fate and God enough times even if she tried.

The path they took lead them straight back to where Draco Malfoy was standing, still trapped by the Disapparation Jinx. While Ron and Harry smiled smugly in satisfaction of seeing their archenemy helpless, Hermione felt pity for him. Here he was, born in a family of evil and forced to obey and stand them all his life. But she guessed that would change a bit now since his father was dead, but scares cut deep inside like his would never leave him.

"Where did he come from?" Draco and Harry spat at the same time. Both had hatred for the other in their eyes that was going to express itself physically unless Hermione did something.

"Guys, calm down. Harry broke out of Azkaban somehow to help me and Ron from Voldemort, and Draco brought me here in the first place."

"So he lured you into a trap, am I right?" Harry said crossly.

"I still haven't figured that out yet." Hermione said suspiciously.

"Wait, he was here? You Know Who? For real?" Draco spoke, looking awfully astonished.

"Don't play dumb with us. You knew this was all going to happen, so confess." Ron demanded, pulling out his wand and aiming it at him.

"Truly, I didn't know You-Know-Who was going to be here today. Last, we were told he was in Australia searching for potions of some sort. If anything, I was trying to save you, all three of you, from them unintentionally, because I knew they were going to come after Hermione and kidnap her since she was the Keeper of the Crystal after school was over. They tried many times before, especially Bellatrix who had been following her in disguise for the longest time, but they couldn't because she was always together with Weasley. So when Filch said that you had gone in the Forbidden Forest, I decided to take Hermione in so she could get the crystal and give it to one of the teachers since I knew they were planning to use her to get it. I was sure Hermione could handle the Death Eaters, knowing how much of a smarty pants she is."

"So you didn't know anything about Harry breaking out and coming here?" Hermione asked.

Draco said, "No. See, I had to play along with them so they wouldn't suspect me. Why do you think I got rid of Bellatrix? So you could undo the jinx and we could go after the crystal, since I knew where the crystal was."

The three looked at each other, not sure whether to trust him or not. How many times had Hermione believed him and he had turned out to be a traitor. Hell, he had even made up the drama of kissing her, so Ron and she would get into a fight. Maybe there was another way of telling.

"Draco." Hermione said.

"What?"

"Take off your shirt."

"WHAT?" Ron blew into rage, goggling at Hermione. Even Draco looked at her with curiosity. Harry laughed.

"Don't get too excited," She told them, standing near Draco, "I want to check something."

After Hermione took the jinx off him, he took off his cloak and top shirt to reveal another undershirt. She checked his top right arm in search of the Dark Mark. It wasn't there. She checked the other side and it was not present there either. Was that possible?

"It's not there…" Hermione said, and signaled Ron and Harry to come over next to her, "Look, his Dark Mark is gone."

"Wait, he had a Dark Mark? He's an official Death Eater? Why didn't you tell me?" Ron asked one after one.

"I promised him that I wouldn't, but anyways, look. It's gone. That has to mean that he's telling the truth."

"I suppose." Harry said doubtfully, and Ron looked as If he had his suspicions too. Hermione didn't care, though. She was not going to spend all her time trying to convince them that Draco had turned over a new leaf. If it wasn't good enough for them, then so be it.

"Don't worry about them," she assured Draco, "I believe you, and I don't blame you for anything that happened back there, even though you might blame us for it." She looked at Harry gloomily. She was referring to his father, Lucius Malfoy, of course. How were they going to tell him that they had killed him?

"What does that mean?" Draco eyed her.

"Yeah, what does it mean?" Ron mocked him.

"You'll find out later. All I want to do right now is get out of here." Hermione voice, and fortunately, they were in agreement with her when they all headed out of the Forbidden Forest, finally with slight smiles on their faces.

…

Hermione had the ups and downs for the rest of the week of the school year. Luckily, none of them got into trouble for taking off to the Forbidden Forest, although Professor McGonagall had been outraged and worried out of her mind when the three of them had been missing at dinner in the Great Hall. Despite this, they did not get detention or House points taken off. However, she had almost fainted when she had seen the sight of Harry trotting up to her with the rest.

Draco found peace with Ron, Harry, and Hermione, because he stopped bickering and fighting with them in the last days of class. Hermione wouldn't have gone as far as to say there were friends, but they were mutual. They had gone to visit him when he found out that his father was dead. They felt sorry for him, but they couldn't understand how he felt, except for Harry, that is. It turned out that they had something in common now, something they could base their mutuality on.

Dumbledore, it turned out, had been captured before the final Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The impostor the day of the match had been Bellatrix of course. Hermione was still haunted of the thought of Bellatrix Lestrange watching her move all those past months. She hoped no one would ever stalk her again. But back to Dumbledore. He was captured and put into Australia, the place where Voldemort had also allegedly been, according to Draco, but he escaped in a few days and investigated a few things out himself. What he had gone looking for, no one knew, because he chose to keep it a secret when he returned the day after their Forbidden Forest incident. This had been a strange year in every aspect, and Hermione knew she would miss Hogwarts very much.

They had received their N.E.W.T results the day before the end of the term, and Hermione was utterly disappointed. She had gotten an Outstanding in all her main subjects, except for Astronomy, where she had gotten an Acceptable, and Ancient Runes an Exceeded Expectations. She was ready to cry and Ron and Harry were ready to laugh at the time, but she didn't, deciding there were more important things in life than grades and school.

And now, here they were on the Hogwarts train, heading back to Platform nine and three-quarters for the rest of their lives, never to see Hogwarts again. She was sad in one way, but happy in another, because her studies were over and summer vacation had approached. The bad side was that she still hadn't decided who she was going to live with, her Mum or her Dad. She knew that whoever she picked first, they would end up hurting the other. If only they hadn't gotten divorced…

It was a funny sight. On each side of the compartment, a pair was all over each other, either making out or staring at each other with love. It wasn't much of a surprise to distinguish Harry and Ginny as the making out couple, and Ron and Hermione as the staring couple. Hermione was feeding Ron chocolate frogs one by one and then kissing him. She felt transcendent to be in his arms. She felt safe and loved, and she would do nothing else than love Ron. She didn't need to tell him that she loved him anymore, because he knew she loved him, and she knew he loved her. It was a feeling between them that could never be broken apart. She grinned toothily at him, and in return, Ron said, "Me too."

…

The train came to a halt at the station. It was time to say goodbye. She didn't want to. She felt as if a part of her was leaving her heart and she wouldn't be able to get it back. All the people in the school, most of them that she would never see again.

She went to find Draco first, since he was the one that she had learned to like, and ironically, he had tried to search her also. They awkwardly shook hands, "Uh, bye, I guess." I muttered, and he laughed at her nervousness, saying, "Yeah, I'll see you around. Don't lose touch."

"I won't, Draco." She finally pulled him into a hug, and he whispered into her ear, "Just wanted to let you know that that kiss didn't mean anything."

"Thank goodness." She said, relieved to hear it.

They broke off, and with one last goodbye from Draco, they went their separate ways. Next, Hermione went up to Parvati and Lavender, who were sharing hugs with a bunch of Gryffindors as well, and said farewell to them. Even though they weren't that close, they had been her roommates for seven years, and that counted for a lot.

On her way back, just as she thought she was done saying by to everybody, Neville poked her in the back, and she turned to face him.

"I'm going to miss you, Neville." She hugged him tightly, "Write me this summer…actually, I'll write you first." She added, considering that she didn't know where she was going to live yet.

"I will. It's been fun, Hermione."

"Yes it has." She agreed, and saw Ron coming towards them.

"Bye for now."

Hermione waved. But just as he turned and took three steps, he crashed into Ron. Both of them fell to the hard rock floor and groaned in pain. "Sorry, sorry." Neville apologized frantically. Ron said something back to him, but Hermione wasn't paying attention to them. Something had fallen out of Ron's jean pocket (they had changed on the train). It was a shiny blue box with a gold ribbon encrusted on the top. She picked it up in curiosity, and was about to open it, but Ron exclaimed, "No! Don't open it!"

"Why? Is it Pandora's Box?" Hermione smirked.

"No." He said in a squeamish manner, watching the box in her hand, as if he was planning a way to get it out.

"Then?"

"It's nothing. Can I have it back now?"

"No." Hermione disagreed, pulling her fingers in between, ready to open it, "If you don't' tell me what it is, I'm going to open it."

He looked oddly nervous, "Alright, I'll tell you, but can I have it back first?"

"Hmm…" She handed it to him, and out of nowhere, Ron kneeled down halfway, with one foot bended, and one foot flat, and took her hand softly. Hermione's eyes widened, her heart racing, anticipating what was about to happen.

"Hermione, I love you more than anything in this world, and I promise I will love you forever. Will you marry me?"

Hermione gasped. It was a happy gasp, and as she widened her lips, Ron opened the blue box and conjured a glamorous diamond ring with a thin gold band and a huge diamond in the middle. He placed it in her finger, stood up, and kissed her passionately. Claps could be heard in the background. Hermione or didn't know it, but the entire Weasley family, Harry, and about half the members of the Order of the Phoenix were watching and clapping, happy to finally see two destined lovers together.

…

Two months went by, and it was the morning before the wedding day. Hermione's home had been selected unintentionally, which was a small two bedroom flat n London. They had insisted that Harry live with them. Hermione and Ron never wanted the Trio to break, ever. They would be together as long as possible.

Ginny was going to be Hermione's bridesmaid, and Harry was Ron's best man, naturally. The wedding was to be held in Hermione's house's backyard (her Dad was still living in it) because it was huge: three acres, to be exact. She hoped it would be a sunny and warm day, and by what Dad had told her after watching the news, it was going to be. It was going to be pretty much a private wedding, with fifty of their closest relatives and friends. Surprisingly, Ron had been the one to suggest inviting Draco, and he had assured them that he would be there. Harry had been acting a bit jealous lately, maybe because Ron had proposed to her first, and not him. She had a feeling Harry was going to do it soon, and she would be very happy to see Ginny and Harry married.

Ron and Hermione were sitting in her backyard, the place of the wedding, making last minute decisions.

"Alright, deserts check." Hermione crossed off an item off their to do list, and went on the next thing, "What kind of flowers to decorate?"

"Roses." Ron said, while Hermione said, "Magnolias."

"What, in the name of Merlin, are magnolias?"

Hermione giggled, "They're a type of flower. Why do you care what kind of flowers we have, anyway? I thought that was a girl thing."

"It is, but I hear roses bring good luck, especially pink and yellow ones."

"Alright, then. Pink and yellow roses it is."

"Thank you mam." Ron made a small bow. Hermione laughed again. He was sure giddy this morning.

"I still can't believe we're getting married this early. It feels like a dream, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded, "A really ecstatic dream."

"I hope everything goes as planned tomorrow."

"It will, don't worry. Nothing will stop us from getting married tomorrow."

"That's what makes me love you so much." Hermione leaned on her chair and pecked him on the cheek. She couldn't hold her excitement. If she had her way, she would have gotten married that day. They were already there, but they had the rehearsal dinner left. When would tomorrow come?

…

"Wow," Ginny goggled at her, "You look absolutely gorgeous, Hermione."

"Thanks to you." Hermione said, while gazing at her reflection in the full size mirror in her parents' bedroom. Not to sound conceited, but Ginny was right. She didn't think she had ever looked prettier. From top to bottom, she felt like fresh and sparkly diamonds. Her hair was in wide, elaborate curls that went down graciously to almost her hips. It was amazing how long her hair had gotten since the time she had chopped it in Christmas vacation. Hermione loved her dress. It was white, obviously, with no neckline and small beads at the hem of the line. It swayed down to fit her curves, and then widened at the bottom, feeling like pure silk. For jewelry, she wore the diamond necklace that Ron had given her on Valentine's Day (he had given it back to her later) and a pair of her mom's diamond earrings. She put her veil on slowly, and then took a deep breath. This was the day. She was going to marry Ron.

"Hermione, dear!" Mrs.Weasley came calling, opening the door to the bedroom and peeking in, "Read to go, honey?"

"Yes, Mrs.Weasley."

"Call me Mum." She said sweetly.

"Yes, Mum." Hermione said.

She left the house in small steps, making sure her dress wouldn't rip. Roses had been placed as a trail to lead her to the altar, and she walked graciously on them. Hermione soon faced an entire audience standing up, awaiting her arrival, and her father coming to her side to escort her to the altar. Hermione could see Ron's beautiful face, and as they made eye contact, they both knew they married inside already.

A/N: Well, it's over. I didn't include the whole wedding because I that would be a little bit too cheesy for my taste, so I left it out and you can imagine what happened next (won't be hard). I still can't believe I finished this story. If you look at the publish date, I started writing this two years ago, so it's a wonder that I finished it after abandoning it for a year and then getting back to it.

I want to let all the readers and reviewers know that I couldn't have done it without you. Seriously. Your reviews meant so much, I can't compare their values to ANYTHING. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!

A lot of people asked before, and I'm sorry, but there will be no sequel to this. I am, however, working on a story that centers Harry as the main character, and that includes Ron and Hermione out of school, if you want to check that out when I repost it.

Ok, that's about it. Thanks once again for all your support, and see you around the site!


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